MONACO NEIGHBOURHOOD
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Cap d ’ Ail residents included Mathilda Kschessinskaya , Sacha Guitry and Greta Garbo
to the « Château des Terrasses » commissioned in 1896 by an English banker William Mendel . The estate was once a winter residence for the Russian imperial family . It was also visited by the English Vice-Consul Frederic Buckingham ; Queen Victoria ; French President Félix Faure ; and the Prince of Monaco Albert I . By the end of the twentieth century , the building began to deteriorate ; its premises and lands were sold . Because of its dilapidated appearance , « Château des Terrasses » was then referred to as « the sleeping beauty ». Only in 2001 did it begin to awaken . That ’ s when the municipality bought out the villa and started its renovation . Today , it is open to public visits .
Refuge of Mathilda Kschessinskaya
Cap d ’ Ail has a number of stories and legends about its residents who contributed to the history of this place . Many of them were outstanding figures of their time . The Russian ballerina Mathilda Kschessinskaya lived on the « Garlic cape » for quite some time . The wife of Prince Andrei Vladimirovich Romanov was performing in Monte-Carlo in 1912 with the Diaghilev ballet . At that time , she was renting « Villa Morla » in Cap d ’ Ail . The ballerina liked this place so much that she wanted to rent it for her second visit . Unfortunately , the villa was already rented .
Miss Kschessinskaya therefore decided to buy the house all to herself . She purchased this « cozy villa » at the price of 180,000 francs and renamed it « Alam ». A diminutive of her name in French was Mala and if you read it backwards , you get the name of her villa , Alam . After the February Revolution , Miss Ksсhessinskaya was forced to flee Russia . It was here that she found refuge . In her memoirs , the great ballerina wrote an entire chapter about Cap d ’ Ail and her emigration . Here are some extracts from her book : « So , on Thursday , March 12 , 1920 , I returned back to my dear villa Alam in Cap d ’ Ail , after six years of absence . A new life began for me , the life of an emigrant . Of course , I was happy to be at home , in my cozy villa , and was glad to find many little things memorable to my heart . But there were a lot of emotional wounds after all that I had gone through and all that was lost … I arrived without a penny , and I had to mortgage the villa straight away in order to pay off the servant and the old gardener who had patiently waited for my return for six years and looked after the house and the garden . I also needed to get a new wardrobe ; I had nothing to wear apart from two old dresses . Not to mention my son , who literally could not be seen in public .» Miss Ksсhessinskaya met many of her friends on the Côte d ’ Azur , who also had to leave their homeland . Among them was Sergei Diaghilev , founder of Les Ballets Russes . He invited Mala to perform in his ballet for the upcoming season , but Miss Ksсhessinskaya refused his offer . Writing in her memoir , she recalled : « I was 48 at that time , full of strength and I could dance successfully . I was very flattered by his proposal , but rejected it . Since the Imperial Theatres ceased to exist , I did not want to perform any more .» Miss Ksсhessinskaya lived in Cap d ’ Ail up until 1929 , when she officially married Andrei Romanov and received the title of Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya . The princely couple sold the house in Cap d ’ Ail and moved to Paris . This was done for financial reasons . To live in Paris , Princess Ksсhessinskaya opened a ballet school , which would become famous all over France .
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Sasha Guitry owned a Villa on the beach — its beautiful garden is highly recommended for a visit
The fate of the villa
The villa in Cap d ’ Ail was later acquired by an Italian aristocrat , Princess Odescalchi who renamed it « Villa Marizzina » which stands for « villa little Mary ». The Princess lived here until her death in 1980 and bequeathed it to her concierge who was then unable to maintain it and it fell into ruin . In 2010 , it was bought by a Russian billionaire who chose not to disclose his name . The villa was in quite a bad condition and lost its former lustre . The owner intended to undertake a major reconstruction . His project was delayed as it threatened the preservation of historical heritage . After a five-year restoration , the villa was listed for over € 30 million . As a result of construction works , only a balustrade on a marble staircase and the four retaining walls remain intact since Mathilda ’ s time . The villa is easy to find , located near the train station at Raymond Gramaglia avenue , 32 . It is now under private ownership and not available for visits .
Going on a walk through this French Riviera town , it must be said that many of the Cap d ’ Ail estates once belonged to famous people . Their spirit can still be felt here .
106 / Hello Monaco Spring – Summer 2018