Palais Lascaris Museum in Nice: Discovering ancient houses and their history is a great joy, it bring out the curious in us about the life of the residents who once lived there and the stories that were told…
In Nice, one such ancient building with a story to tell is the is the Palais Lascaris Museum, an aristocratic 17th century building at 15, Rue Droite in the “Vieille Ville.” This palace was owned by the family Vintimille-Lascaris until 1802. The city of Nice bought Palais Lascaris in 1942 for the purpose of turning it into a museum. In 1962 the restoration began, was completed in 1970 and opened to the public.
When you enter the palais, you’ll be amazed that behind such a really quite unexceptional entrance, much splendour awaits you.
The collection is formed around the bequest of a collector from Nice. Antoine Gautier was born in 1825, studied the classics and became a lawyer. He played violin and viola and started a musical salon at home where he also collected instruments. This salon was visited by many famous musicians.
Antoine died at the age of 79 and he left to the city of Nice more than 224 instruments and a very rare musical library.
Some highlights of the collections are:
Tenor sackbut by Anton Schnitzer (Nuremberg, 1581)
A rare collections of clarinets
Instruments that made by Adolphe Sax
Harps
A bass violin by Paolo Antonio Festore (Milan, 1696)
As you wander from room to room, you’ll discover tapestries, beautiful old doors, wonderful stairways with fresco’s and a building that is stunning decorated rococo style. The floors are lined with old “tomettes” tiles and, at the “etage noble” you can admire 18th century ornaments and artifacts.
Don’t forget to visit the ancient Besancon pharmacy which dates from 1738 and has wonderful original Delftware pots and accessories.
If you visit in the morning and discover when you emerge that it is lunchtime, you are at the right place, because the “Vieille Ville” has so many bistros, cafés and restaurants where you can enjoy a pissaladiere or steak tartare. Bon appetit!
The mid-day clock that goes “boom” in Nice!
The Bay of Angels Nice, and how it got its name
The amazing crystal casino of Nice
The vineyards of Nice
Darina Nykl lives in Holland where she works in a hospital and is an author. She blogs about the stories she is writing which are mostly set in Amsterdam, Paris, Provence and the Cote d’Azur, places that inspire her: darinanykl.com
