Villa Schiffanoia, Villefranche-sur-Mer (built 1875)
Origins
Villa Schiffanoia was built around 1875 by Henri Tiranty, a member of an old Niçois family, on a hillside overlooking the Bay of Villefranche. The original building was a large rectangular villa of around thirty rooms, with a red-ochre facade, designed by an architect whose name has not been recorded.
The villa's name is credited to the Italian poet Gabriele d'Annunzio, who stayed there and is said to have called it "Schiffanoia" — roughly translating to "banish boredom" — after the palace of the same name in Ferrara, Italy.
War and Later Owners
During the First World War, the villa was converted into a temporary hospital. It later passed to Jacques Stern, who served as Under-Secretary of State for the Navy.
At the end of the 1960s, the property changed use again, becoming a medical centre for the hearing-impaired under Dr Guy Perdoncini, then mayor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, working with architect Christian Barbera.
Restoration
The property changed hands again in the early 1990s, when it was acquired by the current owners, which undertook a substantial restoration and refurbishment of the building.
The Villa Today
Villa Schiffanoia today spans approximately 1,800 sqm, set within a private estate of around 1.15 hectares planted with olive and citrus trees. The villa offers 11 sea-view suites, each with its own bathroom. Amenities include two swimming pools, one of them heated and indoors, alongside a spa, hammam, fitness room, billiard room, library, and a professional kitchen. An independent guest pavilion sits within the grounds.
The property is positioned a short distance from Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Beaulieu-sur-Mer, with views extending across the Bay of Villefranche.
