VILLA EPHRUSSI DE ROTHSCHILD / SAINT-JEAN-CAP-FERRAT / FRANCE
With its nine theme gardens spread out over seven hectares of land, in one of the most exclusive areas of Côte d’Azur, Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild has one of the most remarkable gardens in France.
VILLA KERYLOS / BEAULIEU-SUR-MER / FRANCE
Throughout his life, Théodore Reinach had been fascinated with antiquity. Villa Kerylos was his attempt at reviving the beauty of an ancient civilization, and can be viewed as his tribute to a past in which the foundation of modern society was built.
BUSSANA VECCHIA / SANREMO / ITALY
After an earthquake, the town of Bussana Vecchio had to be deserted. For decades, the hillside hamlet was left to slowly decay, until the 1960s, when a group of young artists rediscovered it.
Today, it is a vibrant artistic community, and the ruins have been transformed into works of art.
VITTORIALE DEGLI ITALIANI / GARDONE RIVIERA / ITALY
Gabriele D’Annuzio was associated with the Decadent movement, promoting an aesthetic ideology of excess and artificiality. Politically, he was part of the Italian ultranationalist movement, and the aim was to display the power of Italy.
TEMPLE OF POSEIDON / CAPE SOUNION / GREECE
Poseidon was lord of the sea, worshipped by the navy, merchants and sailors alike. The remnants of his temple are still found at the cliffs of Cape Sounion, south of Athens, having been erected here more than two thousand years ago.
PALAZZO ALTEMPS / ROME / ITALY
Located in Campo Marzio, only a few steps from Piazza Navona, Palazzo Altemps was built by Girolamo Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV. Currently an art museum, its layout creates a harmonious composition, borrowing from and reintroducing solutions used in the design of antiquarian collections.
PALAZZO BARBERINI / ROME / ITALY
Palazzo Barberini is an example of Baroque excellence, planned by – among others – Bernini, master of interiors and art during the Baroque era, in order to create a home suitable for a pope and his large, extended family.
PALAZZO COLONNA / ROME / ITALY
Throughout history, Rome has been the home of many influential family and thus holds a number of palaces, but Palazzo Colonna, and its art collection, is one of its most spectacular.
SKOGSKYRKOGÅRDEN / STOCKHOLM / SWEDEN
In this forest cemetery, inaugurated in 1940, most of the graves are placed among trees in a deep forest, in this way interlacing human existence with the organic shapes of nature. Skogskyrkogården is an emotional landscape, where the visitors’ sombre mood is softened by diligent and careful architectural planning.
The sorrow after losing someone is met with a softness and serenity in both the layout of the landscape and in the beauty of the buildings.
MILLESGÅRDEN / STOCKHOLM / SWEDEN
Carl Milles is famous for his many sculptures, commissioned by institutions around the world, often created with inspiration from the mythology of ancient Greece and Rome.
For fifty years, he worked at developing Millesgården today widely considered the most important artwork of his life.
CASE STUDY E-1027 / ROQUEBRUNE-CAP-MARTIN / FRANCE
This modernist masterpiece is not only of great architectural importance, it is also a manifestation of the love between architects Jean Badovici and Eileen Gray: “E” stands for “Eileen”, “10” and “2” for his initials while “7” correlates with the alphabetical position of the letter “G”. It was a house that presented bold new design ideals, but also for the couple to share a life in.
PROMENADE LE CORBUSIER / ROQUEBRUNE-CAP- MARTIN / FRANCE
The promenade, named as a tribute to the Swiss architect, connects Roquebrune-Cap-Martin with Menton, offering panoramic views of Monaco’s skyscrapers, many possibilities to go swimming in the turquoise waters as well as a resting on the sun-drenched rocks.
OLYMPIA / PELOPONNESE / GREECE
In Ancient Greece, Olympia was home to the gods, as well as the site of the first Olympic Games, held in honour of Zeus, king of all gods. Today, the ruins of this holy sanctuary are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
KRONBORG CASTLE / ELSINORE / DENMARK
The massive Danish castle, built in the style of Northern baroque, is a witness to the turbulent history of the region, but it is also the scene for one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Hamlet, about an unhappy and haunted Danish prince.
TJOLÖHOLM CASTLE / HALLAND / SWEDEN
”It’s funny! All my love of British taste, I have put in Tjolöholm. Whatever else I do there is – Swedish.”
– Lars Israel Wahlman