Cap Ferrat
Cap Ferrat (pronounced [kap fɛʁa]; English: Cape Ferrat) is a cape situated in the Alpes-Maritimes department in Southeastern France. It is located in the commune of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
Hospitius lived there as a recluse during the 6th century. Thus, the cape is sometimes called Cap-Saint-Hospice or Cap-Saint-Sospis. Once the domain of King Leopold II of Belgium, Cap Ferrat is now graced with a number of magnificent villas, most notably the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.
Notable properties
[edit]Notable properties on Cap Ferrat include the Villa La Mauresque (originally built in 1906 for King Leopold II's father-confessor), bought by the English novelist W. Somerset Maugham in 1928, who lived there before and after World War II and until his death in 1965.[1][2] The Villa Maryland was owned by the co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen.[3]
The Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat was bought by a subsidiary of Leonard Blavatnik's Access Industries in 2007.[4] Prominent former residents have included Paul Hamlyn[5] and Boris Berezovsky.[6]
Notable residents
[edit]The English songwriter and playwright Noël Coward referenced the Cap in his song "I Went to a Marvellous Party" from his 1939 revue Set to Music, with the lyric: "Quite for no reason/I'm here for the season/And high as a kite,/Living in error/With Maud at Cap Ferrat/Which couldn't be right..."[7]
Cap Ferrat was named in 2012 as the second most expensive residential location in the world after Monaco.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Samuel J. Rogal (1 January 1997). A William Somerset Maugham Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 175–. ISBN 978-0-313-29916-2.
- ^ William Boyd (13 September 2009). "The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham by Selina Hastings". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ William Booth (16 May 2008). "Cannes, Sweet and Sour". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ Luke Harding (27 March 2007). "Oligarch buys up French hotels". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ Bob Gavron (9 September 2001). "Publishing king who gave fine books the common touch". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ Karen McVeigh (22 July 2010). "Boris Berezovsky's second wife wins record £100m divorce settlement". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ Philip Hoare (21 May 2013). Noel Coward: A Biography of Noel Coward. Simon and Schuster. pp. 316–. ISBN 978-1-4767-3749-2.
- ^ London and New York 'to remain world's top cities'
