Villa Nobili, Villa in Cimiez, Nice, France

Villa Nobili is a cream-coloured villa built in 1894 at 94 Avenue George V in Cimiez, Nice. Its facade has a projecting balustraded terrace with potted plants, a triangular pediment with carved relief, and tall windows with wrought-iron balconies. The building originally had 82 windows and was converted into flats from 1952 to 1955 by architect Jean Chiérico.

The land was acquired around 1715 by the Focardi della Roccasparviera family, then passed by inheritance to the Alziari de Malausséna and Tonduti de l'Escarène counts. Sold in 1862 to Joseph Pollonais, it reached the promoter François Chabaud on 1 June 1893, and he built the Château de Cimiez in 1894 on a 4,642 m² plot. Renamed Villa de Nobili after the Marquis Prospero De Nobili bought it on 18 October 1920, it was requisitioned from 1942 to 1947, first by the Italian OVRA then by the Gestapo, and became a condominium in 1952.

The villa's name comes from Marquis Prospero De Nobili di Vezzano, who bought the Château de Cimiez in 1920 and gave it his family name. His daughter Lila, who inherited it in 1945, was a painter and fashion illustrator for Vogue and Hermès, and designed costumes and sets for Visconti's 1955 La Traviata with Maria Callas at La Scala.

Villa Nobili stands at 94 Avenue George V, in the Cimiez district, reachable by the Nice-Cimiez electric tramway line that the 1890s rental prospectus already cited as putting the centre of Nice ten minutes away. The building has been a co-ownership since 1952, so the facade, the balustraded terrace and the pediment are seen from the street; the grounds, reduced to 1,305 m² from the original 4,642 m², are not open to visitors.

The building was modified between 1952 and 1955 under the architect Jean Chiérico: the courtyard veranda and the central garden door were removed, and the mansard roofs of the second-floor wings were replaced by two apartments rising to the height of the central section. The surrounding park was divided, leaving 1,305 m² of the original 4,642 m² plot.