Perched on the heights of Nice, in a dominant position facing Avenue de Cimiez, stands the former Régina palace. The eclectic splendor and neo-classical aesthetics of its architecture make this building an icon of the “Belle Époque” on the Côte d’Azur. Transformed into a residential building at the end of the 1930s, the Régina was listed as a historic monument in 1992. Near the Matisse Museum and the Roman ruins, it is one of the architectural jewels of the Nice landscape.
The Excelsior Régina Palace
Embodying the Belle Époque architectural style, beloved by the 19th-century European intelligentsia, the Excelsior Regina Palace was built in just a few months in 1896 by architects Sébastien-Marcel Biasini—who also designed the Riviera Palace in 1897 and signed numerous villas on the coast—and François-Félix Gordolon-Maubert. Designed to accommodate a wealthy clientele, the palace offered the most modern comforts of the time from its inception, including electricity, a wastewater disposal system, central heating, and elevators.
The palace is famous for having hosted the elite of the time, including Queen Victoria and her court during several of her winter stays. To pay homage to the British sovereign, the architects designed a wrought iron crown that overlooks the apartments she used to occupy.
During World War I, like many palaces, the site was requisitioned to serve as a military hospital. In the 1930s, weakened by the 1929 crisis and the emergence of a new seaside culture, the hotel was declared bankrupt, sold at auction, and then purchased in 1937 by a real estate company that decided to turn it into a co-ownership of apartments offering spectacular views of the city and the sea. An intellectual elite composed of artists and writers once again frequented the Régina, including the painter Matisse, who then owned an apartment-studio.
An Eclectic Architecture
Over 104 meters long, the Regina offers an exceptional demonstration of Belle Époque architecture. Its eclectic style, at the crossroads of neoclassicism and orientalism, serves a quest for splendor and luxury, evident throughout the building: glass marquee, wrought iron walkway to access the garden, domes, colonnades, and oriels (“bow-windows”) tinged with exoticism. On the facade, the balconies, rustications, bands, cornices, pilasters, and capitals are among the abundant elements that unify the whole in a form of exuberant harmony.
Photo credit : © Elisabeth Rossolin
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