A historic villa in the Côte d’Azur, or French Riveria, which housed high-profile owners including the Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, a grandson of Emperor Alexander II and a first cousin of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, is on the market for €27 million (US$30.7 million).
The Grand Duke rented the villa, built in 1901, before he acquired it in 1913 for his mistress and future wife, the Russian ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska, according to the listing with Engel & Völkers, which put the property on the market last week.
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The couple took refuge there until 1929 before they moved to Paris. They named the property "Villa Alam," spelling Kshesinskaia’s surname Mala backward. "Alam" is still used as the name for the area where the villa stands, according to the listing.
The next owner, a member of a noble Italian family Odescalchi, renamed the property "Villa Marizzina" (meaning Villa for Little Maria) and lived there until she passed away in the 1980s.
The property was bequeathed to Odescalchi’s caretakers and deteriorated over the years. In 2010, the current owner bought the villa and completely renovated it, according to British developer Neil Galloway, who oversaw the renovation project.
Mr. Galloway declined to identify the owner, only describing him as a Russian billionaire who has amassed his fortune in manufacturing railcars and who already has a home in the area.
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The restored villa has 506 square meters (about 5,447 square feet) of living space, featuring three living rooms, seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two kitchens, an office and a game room. The home has marbled walls and floors and is equipped with modern surveillance and air conditioning systems.
Yet many historic characteristics of the mansion, especially the exterior, have been painstakingly preserved, including replicas of the original windows and of period doors with their silver-plated handles, according to the listing.
Outdoors, there is a swimming pool and a garden with direct views over the Mediterranean sea. There are parking spaces for six cars.
"For national and international buyers, the luxury residential property market on the French Riviera is one of the most attractive in the whole of the Mediterranean," said Marie-Claire Sangouard, listing agent and managing director of the Engel & Völkers Market Center Côte d’Azur.