Villa Kérylos collects private archives of the Belle Époque

Villa Kérylos in Beaulieu-sur-Mer is calling for people to share photographs, letters and family documents related to its creators — the archaeologist Théodore Reinach and the architect Emmanuel Pontremoli. Materials are being accepted until 30 November 2026: they will be used to assemble an exhibition about who lived in the house and how.

What exactly they’re looking for

Anything related to the villa and its inhabitants will do: photographs, correspondence, documents, family stories. Items can be lent for the duration of the exhibition, permission can be given to have them copied, or you can simply record your testimony. Letters should be sent to exporeinach@villakerylos.fr by midnight on 30 November 2026. The villa’s call to collect memories is described as a rare opportunity for the public to take part in writing the history of a landmark of the Belle Époque.

The Greek house on the headland

The villa was built in 1902–1908: Emmanuel Pontremoli designed it for Théodore Reinach (1860–1928), an archaeologist, Hellenist and deputy, taking as his model a dwelling from the island of Delos from the 2nd–1st centuries BC. Hence the peristyle with columns, mosaic floors, frescoes and furniture made after ancient models in wood, bronze and ivory. In 1928 Reinach bequeathed the villa to the Institut de France, which still owns it, and in January 2026 the villa changed operator.

What will happen next

The forthcoming exhibition is devoted to the Reinach family and the very construction of the house — that is, to the period of which the museum has the fewest objects: private photographs and letters almost always remain with descendants and neighbours. No opening date has yet been announced; the call for materials runs until the end of November.

We have written separately about neighbouring houses of the same era: Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on the neighbouring headland and Villa E1027 with Le Corbusier’s cabin in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.

Sources: Presse Agence, Villa Kérylos.

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Photo: Jean-Paul Wettstein / Pexels