In June 1980, Grace Kelly and her daughter, Princess Caroline, visited Les Moulins du Villars in Gilette, a small town an hour or so away from Nice in the French Riviera.
The Princess of Monaco would return numerous times in the next two years, before her untimely death in a car accident.
According to Sotheby’s International Realty,
The Princess must have been charmed by the Les Moulins du Villars property and its famous spring, for after that first visit, she returned alone on several occasions and, over time, gave several gifts to the house, including a number of statues. Two of them are still present.
It is said that the Princess of Monaco considered the place very special and a rare haven of peace.”
Kelly as an American heiress in the South of France in “To Catch a Thief”, with Cary Grant
The property began as oil and flour mills and the oldest part is from the 14th century. Count Jean Fernand Joseph Gouin de Roumilly took the property in the 1970s and turned it into a chic, hot spot for society mavens.
The current owners purchased the property in 2006, and reconstructed the main villa in 2010. The Sanctuary, an ancient ruin dating from Roman times, was a former flour mill and industrial forge.
All of the stones of the building’s facades were hand-cut on site and were taken from ancient blocks excavated from the ground for the new foundations.
It sits on 6,500-acres with;
- 7 bedrooms
- ancient ornamental fish ponds
- olive trees (that produce organic olive oil)
- 16 grass terraces
- a guest house
- an infinity pool (with private “India” suite)
- gym
- tennis court
- & it’s own helipad
The property is crossed by a stream that feeds the garden, its trees and its two vegetable gardens. This stream comes from the Villars Spring which gushes out a cliff above the villa.
It can be yours for sale for $12.92 million here.
(Photos, Sotheby’s; via Town & Country)
