If ever a house was well named, it is María Juan de Sentmenat’s idyllic estate on Majorca. Bellagre, which means “beautiful countryside” in Latin, sits amid a fragrant pine forest and lush gardens full of olives, oranges and lemons, on a hill overlooking the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean.
Although the estate lies just a few minutes from the island’s capital, Palma, it is an oasis of calm.
María’s grandfather, Vicente Juan de Sentmenat, Count of Ribas, built the house in 1945 as a summer residence, but it became his family’s full-time home.
He loved to gather the extended Sentmenat clan here during the holidays, as María, the head of a top PR agency, recalls. “There were so many of us that we sat down to eat in three shifts – it was great fun,” she laughs, telling how she’s relished re-creating that childhood experience for her daughter, also called María and now 18.
And, she adds, it isn’t only family who’ve fallen for Bellagre’s charms. As Monaco’s consul in Spain, the Count of Ribas hosted Prince Rainier of Monaco and his Hollywood bride Princess Grace – Grace Kelly – here when they visited Majorca.
With its handsome facade of hand-carved stone, its courtyard and tower, the picturesque palazzo proved a hit with the royal couple, as photos and mementos show.
María, what do you love most about this house?
"Bellagre has great sentimental value for me.
"I lived here until I was 16 and it's full of the best memories of my childhood and adolescence.
"In the summer, all my cousins from Madrid would come to stay.
Esta historia es de la edición August 28, 2023 de HELLO! UK.
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Esta historia es de la edición August 28, 2023 de HELLO! UK.
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AS 'THE DIPLOMAT RETURNS KERI RUSSELL
ON HAVING FUN WITH RUFUS SEWELL, MEETING THE U.S. AMBASSADOR AND BEING STRAPPED TO TOM CRUISE
FROM HIS CHALLENGING CHILDHOOD TO HOLLYWOOD'S HOT LIST BARRY KEOGHAN
ON BEING DRAWN TO STRONG WOMEN AND ENJOYING LIFE WITH HIS LITTLE BOY
AS 'THE SUBSTANCE' IS RELEASED MARGARET QUALLEY
ON MAKING THE LEAP FROM BALLET TO HOLLYWOOD
BUSY MUM-TO-BE AND DUTIFUL DAUGHTER PRINCESS BEATRICE
TEAMS UP WITH SISTER PRINCESS EUGENIE TO SUPPORT THEIR FATHER IN HIS EXILE FROM ROYAL LIFE
CHAMPIONING WOMEN'S HEALTH THE DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH
HONOURS 60 YEARS OF GROUNDBREAKING CHARITY
AS ONE DIRECTION REUNITE TO BID FAREWELL TO FORMER BANDMATE LIAM PAYNE
HUGS AND TEARS AS MOURNING FRIENDS AND FAMILY SAY GOODBYE
CELEBRATING HER GAME-CHANGING NEW CONCEALER VICTORIA'S SECRETS
THE DESIGNER SHARES HER TOP SKINCARE TIPS AND REVEALS WHICH PRODUCTS HARPER LOVES TO STEAL
CHANNELLING MARY POPPINS TO CHAMPION LITERACY THE QUEEN
JOINS CELEBRITIES AND BEST-SELLING AUTHORS TO APPLAUD YOUNG WRITERS' 'ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT WORK'
CONTINUING A FESTIVE TRADITION - WITH A TINY NEW TREAT TO DELIGHT VISITORS WINDSOR CASTLE AT CHRISTMAS
STAFF DECK THE HALLS - AND, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE ROYAL DOLLS' HOUSE
SNAPPING UP RECORD-BREAKING £60M MANSION IN MIAMI THE BECKHAMS
WE GO INSIDE THEIR BILLION-DOLLAR LIFESTYLE AS THE FAMILY PREPARE TO EXPAND THEIR BRAND