VILLA ARSON 



Ceded to France by the treaty of i860, Nice still retains much of its 

 Italian character, and hidden away in odd nooks and corners an 

 occasional villa may yet be discovered built on the good old lines. 

 Among these the Villa Arson stands pre-eminent, not merely for its 

 most enviable situation, but also as practically the one villa on this side 

 of the frontier that still retains much of its well-designed gardens. 



It lies some little distance back from Nice, on a steep knoll which it 

 shares with the village and Monastery of S. Barthelemy. Far away 

 from the dust, and heat, and glare of the great coast road, it is protected 

 from the keen north winds by an amphitheatre of hills, the first lofty 

 spurs of those grand Alpes Maritimes that lie hidden from view beyond. 

 Olive groves clothe the steep slopes around about it, and in the green 

 valley, which runs far into the surrounding hills, are little farms, each 

 with its group of peach and pear, almond and plum, damson and cherry, 

 their fragile blossom lighting up the silvery grey olives ; and here and 

 there in sheltered nooks is a little grove of lemons. 



As compared with the average Italian Villas the grounds are not 

 extensive, though l^rge enough for all reasonable requirements. The 

 casino occupies the crest of the hill, the gardens inclining towards the 

 south in a succession of half a score terraces, some broad, others a few 

 yards wide only. The principal entrance is towards the north, and on 

 that side there would possibly have been something of the nature of a 

 bosco, shielding it from the cold northerly winds ; of this wood only a 

 fringe remains, surrounding a tennis court and a lawn of rough grass. 

 The approach was formerly by an avenue of ancient cypresses,, that 



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