An iconic residence in the city of festivals, Villa Domergue overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and the Estérel Mountains in the Californie district of Cannes. Formerly known as Villa Fiesole, this emblem of the seaside resort’s prestigious past was built by Jean-Gabriel Domergue. Showcasing a refined Art Deco style, it now hosts a vibrant artistic and cultural life within the privacy of its salons and gardens. Far from the hustle and bustle of Cannes, nestled below La Californie, Villa Domergue—completed in 1934—is the architectural creation of a painter closely associated with the city’s international renown, notably for having designed the poster for the first Cannes Film Festival in 1939.
Jean-Gabriel Domergue acquired the land in 1926 and infused the residence with Italian Renaissance influences, inspired by the Tuscan villas scattered around villages near Florence, such as Fiesole, which he had visited. From the structure itself to the interior décor, the artist—celebrated for his pin-up portraits—personally supervised every detail of the Art Deco villa, which exudes Provençal charm. His wife, Odette Domergue, designed the gardens in the spirit of the Villa d’Este, with cascading Mediterranean plants and ponds leading up to a spectacular terrace, like a balcony overlooking the Cannes panorama and the sea. A sculptor herself, she dotted the park with antique busts and objets d’art imbued with poetry, and designed the wrought-iron gate opening onto the terrace. Upon her husband’s death in 1973, she bequeathed the property to the city of Cannes.
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From the outset, this authentic and sumptuous residence in the hills above Cannes has been a hub for social events, particularly during the Cannes Film Festival.
“With all the hustle and bustle of the Festival below, I really feel like I’m in paradise,” Jean-Gabriel Domergue declared with pride when television crews visited his home in 1962.
Continuing this legacy, the city of Cannes—now the owner of Villa Domergue—opens its salons and gardens during the international film festival. For many years, the villa served as the meeting place where the jury deliberated and awarded the Palme d’Or.
However, only one celebrity has ever had the privilege of staying there: Sharon Stone in 2002, so captivated by the villa that she made it a condition of joining the jury. Since then, Villa Domergue has been dedicated to social events and has hosted around a dozen live television shows, including Laurent Ruquier’s On n’est pas couché.
An artistic and cultural vocation
Echoing the works that adorn the walls of this elegant Provençal-style residence and the poetic garden created by Odette Domergue, the villa—listed as a historic monument since 1990—hosts numerous temporary exhibitions.
Paying tribute to Jean-Gabriel and Odette Domergue, to major figures of the Cannes Film Festival such as Agnès Varda, and to renowned sculptors, painters, and artists whose ties to the French Riviera endure—such as Niki de Saint Phalle and Man Ray—these retrospectives are many and punctuate the cultural calendar of the city of Cannes.
For more information: official website
Historic villa on the French Riviera