villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
in
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (; oc, Ròcabruna Caup Martin or ; it, Roccabruna-Capo Martino, ; Mentonasc: ''Rocabrüna''; Roquebrune until 1921) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Southeastern Fr ...
on the
French Riviera
The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
.
The villa was built c. 1904 in
Neo-Byzantine style
Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Ortho ...
Villa Cyrnos
Villa Cyrnos is a Belle Époque-style villa in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin on the Côte d'Azur in Southern France. It was designed by Hans-Georg Tersling, one of the most productive architects of the period on the French Riviera.
History
The villa, nam ...
.
The gardens, laid out in 1909, slope steeply down to the sea. Designs for the gardens, as well as the villa interiors, were provided by Italian painter Raffaele Mainella, who did likewise for
Villa Torre Clementina
The Villa Torre Clementina is a historic mansion in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. It was built in 1904 for author Ernesta Stern. It was designed by architect Lucien Hesse, and the interiors were designed by painter Raffaële Maïnella. It was use ...
, also in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. He built a
cloister
A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
gallery overlooking the sea, linked to the villa by a bridge and a long flight of turfed steps lined with columns. This central stairway is flanked by two more, parallel stairways. Other garden features include a Venetian-style loggia, a
pergola
A pergola is most commonly an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained. The ...
with columns and arches styled after the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, and a sunken Dutch garden containing a long canal.
The gallery and other features provided viewpoints for Dubernet to watch her daughter
Virginie Hériot
Virginie Claire Désirée Marie Hériot (26 July 1890 – 28 August 1932) was a French people, French yachtswoman who won in the 1928 Summer Olympics in the 8 Metre ''Aile VI''.competitive sailor, yachting in the bay below.
The villa, together with its gardens, was registered as a
monument historique
''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...