The Castel Sainte-Claire is a villa in the hills above

Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered arou ...

, in the

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

Département of France, which was the residence of Olivier Voutier, a French officer who brought the ''

Venus de Milo The ''Venus de Milo'' (; el, Αφροδίτη της Μήλου, Afrodíti tis Mílou) is an ancient Greek sculpture that was created during the Hellenistic period, sometime between 150 and 125 BC. It is one of the most famous works of ancient ...

'' to France in 1820, and later of the American novelist Edith Wharton. Its garden is classified as one of the

Remarkable Gardens of France The Remarkable Gardens of France is intended to be a list and description, by region, of the more than three hundred gardens classified as ''"Jardins remarquables"'' by the Ministry of Culture and the Comité des Parcs et Jardins de Fr ...

History

The Castel Sainte-Claire is located in the hills just above the old town of Hyères. Its park contains the ruins of part of the old walls of the city, dating to the end of the 12th century. The walls were destroyed by the order of Cardinal Richelieu during the reign of

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

. In the 17th century, the site was occupied by a convent belonging to the order of the Institute of Poor Women, created in Assisi in 1212, of which Sainte-Claire was the first Mother Superior. Following the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, the convent was closed, the convent was demolished, and the land was sold. In 1820, the land was sold to the French naval officer and archeologist Olivier Voutier, best known as the man who brought the ''

'' from Greece to France. Voutier constructed the present villa, which he called La Villa Sainte Claire, and restored the ramparts of the old city between the villa and the ruins of an old tower. Voutier's grave is located in the park, next to the ruined tower. In 1927, the property was purchased by the American novelist Edith Wharton, who used it as her summer residence. She called it "Sainte-Claire du Château" and created the garden in its present form, filling it with cacti and sub-tropical plants. The villa was purchased by the city of Hyères in 1955, and the park became a public garden. Since 1990 it has been the office of the National Park of

Port-Cros Port-Cros () is a French island in the Mediterranean island group known as the Îles d'Hyères. It is part of the commune of Hyères, in the department of Var in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The island was donated to the French go ...

and the Botanical Preserve of

Porquerolles Porquerolles (; oc, Porcairòlas), also known as the Île de Porquerolles, is an island in the Îles d'Hyères, Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. Its land area is and in 2004, its population has benn about 200. Porquerolles, the larg ...

(the island park off the coast of Hyères).

References

* Brochure on the Castel published by the National Park of Port-Cros. {{coord, 43.1211, 6.1250, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Gardens in Var (department) Buildings and structures in Var (department) Houses in France