IN the lost landscape of the mythical French Riviera—that shimmering stretch of coastline immortalised in the stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the art of Picasso, Matisse and Cocteau— there is one place that still retains much of its magical spirit: the secluded enclave of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. For here is the breathtaking view of infinite sky and sparkling sea that inspired Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel to create her beautiful hilltop villa in 1929, the same year that another leading figure of the avant-garde, the Irish-born designer Eileen Gray, completed her own Modernist house on the rocky shoreline of the Mediterranean.
If you are lucky enough to visit the Maybourne Riviera today (and there is no better hotel in which to stay in the area, as you would expect from a sister property to Claridge’s in London), you will find yourself perfectly positioned between these two iconic properties—one above, one below (rooms from €750 per night (about £640); www.maybourne riviera.com). Fortunately, the Maybourne Riviera is itself notable for its remarkable design, including subtle echoes of Chanel and Gray’s respective interpretations of romantic Modernism. Unlike the extreme radicalism proposed by Le Corbusier, who, in 1921, declared that a house should be ‘a machine for living’, both Chanel and Gray had a more poetic, lyrical approach to making themselves at home on the Côte d’Azur.
Denne historien er fra July 05, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra July 05, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds