Villa La Fleur du Cap – pink or pink ?
The villa has not always been pink as it is today. But as a filming location for one of Edward Blake’s Pink Panther films, “The Curse of the Pink Panther” in 1983, the façade color was a perfect fit. The famous English actor, David Niven, owned the villa at the time, and he played a leading role in the film, which was also his last before he died the same year, i.e. in 1983.
The history of Villa La Fleur du Cap – at first called L’Isolatta
The villa was built in 1880 for Eustache Albert Bounin, who was an olive merchant from Nice. He named the villa L’Isoletta, which means “the little island” in Italian. After his death in 1884, his son, Paul Bounin, took over the villa and he renamed it Lo Scoglietto, which means tThe little rock” in Italian. At the same time, he had an extra floor built on the property.
A popular filming location
The property has, on several occasions, been the setting for filming. As early as 1917, the film “L’esclave de Phidias”, which in English translates to “Phidia’s slaves”, was shot in the property and on the associated 3,000 square meters of plot.
The villa was then inherited by Paul Bounin’s son, Jacques Bounin (1908-1977), who was a well-known French politician and resistance fighter. Periodically, he rented the villa to prominent guests such as the Duchess of Marlborough, King Leopold III of Belgium and Charlie Chaplin.
Villa David Niven
In 1962, Jacques Bounin sells the villa to English actor and grand charmer, David Niven, and his Swedish wife and supermodel, Hjördis Paulina Genberg Tersmeden. Therefore, in the early 80s, the villa was nicknamed “Villa David Niven”.
David Niven was good friends with the Grimaldi family in Monaco, so Grace Kelly, among others, has visited the villa and played pétanque on the property’s small court.
Fleur du Cap’s current owner
In 1983, David Niven dies, and Hjördis keeps the villa until she puts it up for sale in 1996. Villa Scoglietto was then quickly sold to Ana Tzarev, who still owns the villa today.
As a special tribute to David Niven, the square in front of the villa was named place David Niven.
You can read even more about Hjördis Niven’s life and stay at Lo Scoglietto here.
For the villa’s current owner, Ana Tzarev, the house is a real adventure story. It begins in the former Yugoslavia, where Ana Tzarev married a merchant, Robert Chandler. Over a number of years, the couple created a small chain of 10 stores.
At home, Ana had a picture of David Niven’s villa hanging in the family bathroom. She often told her children stories about the villa, which was her dream home. The family sold their chain of stores and moved to Monaco, where two of the children made a fortune in the financial market. When the villa was put up for sale in 1996, the children therefore decided to surprise their mother, so they bought the villa that she had always dreamed of – villa La Fleur du Cap.
Recommended experiences nearby:
- David Niven Walk
- Villa Kerylos – Beaulieu-sur-Mer
- Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild – Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
- Paloma Beach – Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
Recommended sailing trips at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat:
- Nice – Villefranche bay – 1 hour
- Boat trip with sunset & wine – 2 hours
- Nice – Cap-Ferrat: Cruise in small group 1,5 hours
By Tommy Sverre – 2023
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