Month: November 2024

Our final excursion of our Mediterranean Adventure was to the village of Villefranche and the Baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild’s former villa.  After a brief ride through Monte Carlo crossing over the start/finish line of the Monaco Grand Prix and past exclusive shops of this seaside resort, we climbed the roadway through tunnels and twisting turns to be able to see the beautiful Cote d’Azur seas and vistas.  

Our first stop was to the quintessential French Riviera seaside village of Villefranche.  This resort town was just west of the French-Italian border and a lovely spot for a quick visit.   With a history going back over 1,000 years this little village was a treat to explore.   Our guide pointed out a number of interesting sites and eventually Janeen opted for a quick snack at a local shop. To be specific, it is hard to pass up a warm Nutella crepe and mint gelato. 

Once gathered together, we trudged back to the bus and continued on our journey to the Rothschild Villa.  For some reason, the name Rothschild aways conjures money and old-world history.  This spot did not lack beauty and history. Beatrice was of the European Rothschild lineage, and a bit of a feminist. 

Located between Nice and Monaco, overlooking the Mediterranean, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is a magnificent palace surrounded by nine themed gardens: French garden, Spanish garden, Florentine garden, stone garden, Japanese garden, exotic garden, Provençal garden and rose garden. 

By birth and then by marriage, Madame Ephrussi was to become one of the greatest collectors of her century. For the construction of the Villa between 1907 and 1912, she added the talents of all the experts and merchants, friends of the family …At the age of 19, Béatrice married Maurice Ephrussi, a Parisian banker of Russian origin, 15 years her senior, and a friend of her parents. Their marriage was celebrated in great style on 6 June 1883 at the synagogue, Rue de la Victoire in Paris.

Béatrice’s father died in 1905 and the Baroness inherited his immense fortune. That same year, she decided to construct her dream home in Cap Ferrat. When she first discovered this plot of land, she was immediately seduced by the beauty of the surroundings.  In 1933, a year before her death, Beatrice bequeathed her Villa and the entirety of its collections to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. The Académie also received the 7 hectares of land and some 5,000 works of art. The Académie des Beaux-Arts entrusted the management of the site to Culture Spaces, which redeveloped the gardens, respecting the original plan designed by Louis Marchand and restoring the Villa’s interior. Several events at the site showcasing the Villa’s splendid gardens are created. 

After walking up the driveway, after a quick visit to the interior of the villa Janeen  decided to forego any further exploration inside and focus our time on the gardens of the Villa – which was an excellent decision.

If you have followed our travels, you know that periodically Janeen needs to visit a garden.  Well, today really helped with that need.  With 9 different style areas, it was easy to just wander slowly around and appreciate the beauty of the place.  At each turn of the path there was a new visit to enjoy – both of the garden and its variety of plantings plus the site of the surrounding area, as the Villa is perched on the top of a promontory projecting out into the sea.  

The one thing that continues to amaze both of us is how many of the plants we see in virtually all the Mediterranean gardens were planted in abundance in Alhambra where we lived for a number of years. The blue flowers of Plumbago, lantana, roses, are common in southern California

Once we reconnected with our group, we boarded the bus for the trip back to the ship.  We can now check off Monaco of our list of countries we need to visit and it is a lovely area that we could certainly return, but not to gamble.

Our next stop was Corsica – specifically Ajaccio the capital of the island. Corsica, located in the Mediterranean Sea, has been part of France since 1768. This charming city is located on the west coast of the island and offers a unique combination of history, culture, and natural beauty.

The view of Ajaccio from our cabin on the ship.
Founded in 1492, Ajaccio is known for being the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1769 and a city with a picturesque port, crystal-clear beaches, and a historic center with cobblestone streets, charming squares, and colorful buildings.  Our first stop was Palais Fesch – a museum of fine arts. Christien, our guide was eager to share the special pieces.

Located within the gated Palais Fesch, it was established by Napoleon the first uncle, Cardinal Joseph Fesch.  The museum is one of France’s leading museums for Italian paintings. It covers an area of 5,000 m² and is divided into several levels. We started our visit on the 2nd floor, and viewed a selection of masterpieces of Italian painting from the 14th to the 17th century.   

Eventually we got to the ground floor, where there were some superb paintings of Napoleon and his family. Also marble busts of the entire family, as well as son Charles.  It was an interesting, if a bit long, visit to a lovely museum.

After the museum, our walking tour gathered at Republique square, then wandered around the various streets, viewing the shops and markets making our way eventually to Napoleon’s birthplace, Casa Buonaparte.  

Maison Bonaparte is the ancestral home of the Bonaparte family. The house was almost continuously owned by members of the family from 1682 to 1923.  It was given to the French Government in 1967 eventually becoming a museum.  We didn’t go into it but certainly appreciated the history of the place.

We ended our walking tour at the Ajaccio Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption.   The Cathedral has been around since the late 1500’s and one of its major claims to fame is it is where Buonaparte was baptized.  A lovely old church for sure.
 

A couple of side alters and the main alter of the Cathedral

Throughout the tour, with just a glance towards the harbor we could see our ship so it was virtually impossible to get lost.

 After picking up a few post cards we headed back to the ship and a relaxing evening on board.

Sardinia, our next port of call, is a large Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. It has nearly 2,000km of coastline, sandy beaches and a mountainous interior crossed with hiking trails. Its rugged landscape is dotted with thousands mysterious Bronze Age stone ruins shaped like beehives.  Our task today was to try and gain an understanding of life in Sardinia’s rural interior, where traditional ways are still practiced. 

After driving from the port, we ended up in the village of Aggius where there is a wonderful museum that represents the origins and culture of traditional life of the area.  The various exhibits reflected the period furniture and everyday tools that might have been used.  

Brought altogether they created this museum where a visitor can appreciate the richness of the Gallura history, its traditions and popular culture from 1600 to the present day. There is an original reconstruction of the ‘traditional house; different rooms that portray everyday life, food production & a stunning display of decorative breads that were used for different festivities. 

In a separate area, there were a number of displays of beautiful handmade costumes that locals worn on different occasions and an area where we could explore ancient crafts that locals made their leaving from. Working on cork and granite, the blacksmith, the shoemaker, the carpenter & their tools.

There was an entire area where you could read about the techniques of preparation of fabrics and the phases of preparation of the wool and info about how they colored the yarn with local herbs.  There was an entire area where a number of different size looms where on display – many of which were in operation.

We completed our adventure with a walking tour along the Tempio’s cobbled streets and were introduce its charms.   

We didn’t have time to visit the Cathedral of Saint Peter, parts of which date to the 13th century.   

It was a brief visit but very enjoyable.

After we left Naples, we ventured to Messina on the island of Sicily.  While I ventured ashore, Janeen had a spa day.  In Messina we really wanted to visit the Regional Museum where a couple of Caravaggio paintings live, but unfortunately the museum was closed on Mondays!  As a result, we didn’t spend as much time in Messina as it might have deserved.  We will just have to come pack another time.  After Messina, the trip took us back to Malta where we have to confess, we didn’t get off the ship – after all, we had spent several days in Malta previously and having a day of rest was needed.    

Once we left Malta, we headed to North Africa – specifically Tunisia and the town of Tunis.  

Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is the northernmost country in Africa and bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. It features the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan.  Known for its ancient architecture, it covers 63,170 sq miles, and has a population of 12.1 million. Tunis is the capital and largest city of the country, and our port of call for the day.  

Flowers are always nice – The National Monument of the Kasbah – On the square.

Beginning in early antiquity, Tunisia was inhabited by the indigenous Berbers. The Phoenicians, began to arrive in the 12th century BCE, settling on the coast and establishing several settlements, of which Carthage emerged as the most powerful by the 7th century BCE. The descendants of the Phoenician settlers came to be known as the Punic people.  During our visit, we stopped at the only remaining Punic site on the island.  The Punic Site appears to be a sanctuary and necropolis as a large number of children’s tombs have been unearthed.  The Punic peoples didn’t survive – only leaving the graves of their children, many of whom may have been sacrificed to the glory of their “god”.

These are the remaining stones from the Punic site. Most are ‘head stones’ for the graves they covered,

Ancient Carthage was a major mercantile empire and a military rival to the Roman Republic until 146 BC when it was defeated by the Romans who occupied Tunisia for most of the next 800 years. The Romans introduced Christianity and left architectural legacies – including a major ‘bath’ complex which we visited. 

This archeological park owes its name to the most famous public baths in Africa. This monument was built in the 2nd century AD (the works started under the rule of Emperor Hadrian and were completed under the rule of Antoninus Pius).

Nowadays, the only thing that has remained from this building is its basement. In the old times, the first floor used to provide two symmetrical spaces, with an axis, on both sides, presenting a hot room, a cold room and an open-door swimming-pool overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

In the 7th century AD, Arab Muslims conquered all of Tunisia. By around the 15th century, the region of modern-day Tunisia had already been almost completely Arabized, establishing Arabs as the demographic majority of the population.  Then, in 1546, the Ottoman Empire established control, holding sway for over 300 years, until 1881, when the French conquered Tunisia. In 1956, Tunisia gained independence as the Tunisian Republic.  In 2011, the Tunisian Revolution, was triggered by general dissatisfaction with the lack of freedom and democracy under the 24-year rule of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.  The President was overthrown and this became the catalyst for the broader Arab Spring movement across the region. Free multiparty parliamentary elections have been held and Tunisia since this happened and Tunisia is considered the only democratic state in the Arab world.

Our tour included walking through wonderful alley ways past any number of shops, a number of mosques and any number of lovely vistas.  In one shop there was a woman hand tying a rug – all of which she was doing without a pattern on view or a plan.  This is also the shop where we purchased several items for Janeen which involved much bargaining (Clearing the stated price was just the starting point!)

All in all, it was a lovely overview of this part of the world.