Palais de marbre, Historical monument in Nice, France
The Palais de Marbre is a mansion in Nice with a complete facade covered in Carrara marble, set within a French-style garden containing lawns, water features, and cypress trees. The building now serves as the municipal archives, preserving important city documents on the Avenue de Fabron.
The businessman Ernest Gambart commissioned architect Sebastien-Marcel Biasini in 1872 to build this Italian-style residence on an existing property. Construction lasted from 1872 to 1878 and took place within an estate already containing exotic plants.
The palace reflects tastes from the 1870s by mixing Italian Renaissance and neoclassical design elements throughout its structure. These influences appear in the columns, cornices, and overall facade composition that still define how the building looks today.
The house sits on Avenue de Fabron and currently functions as the municipal archives where city documents are stored. Plan ahead if you wish to visit, as it is not a public museum with regular opening hours.
Carrara marble arrived in 27 shipments by sea to the construction site, making this one of the rare examples of complete marble coverage in French architecture. This costly effort to import materials from Italy shows the lengths wealthy owners went to create their homes.
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