This museum in Nice houses local collections mainly from the late 19th (after the attachment of the County of Nice to France in 1860).
The museum was completely redone ten years ago. Some words and pictures to help you discover the place.
A museum in the footsteps of Napoleon and his marshals
Many paintings, furniture and statues are dedicated to the Napoleonic era. The ground floor of the museum consists of several rooms in the purest style of the first empire made of woodwork, gilded ornament, large chandeliers, colonnades and painted ceilings. The city of Nice has recently become part of the imperial city network.
The city and its chief magistrate regularly use the museum to welcome its distinguished guests, such as the Prince Charles of England, in May 2018. The villa also serves as reception areas for award ceremonies (best graduates of the city , ...) or place of exchange for associations like the nice nice Nice La Belle.
The main salon also hosts conferences (The painter Jacques Guiaud end of December 2018) or concerts of classical music or jazz. The very "proactive" museum management ensures a real cultural animation. Some visitors may find the ground floor a bit clicking.
Historical documents of the city
The first floor accessible by a beautiful decorated staircase allows to observe many archives concerning the city of Nice. Period paintings, but also beautiful maps allow to appreciate the evolution of urbanism over the twentieth century. Archival documents, municipal bylaws concerning bathing or cleanliness, will make visitors smile and, above all, allow you to better imagine the local life of the time.
A second floor devoted to temporary exhibitions
The museum puts together several exhibitions a year, always very well organized and arranged. Jazz in Nice through photos, videos, exhibitions of objects was one of the major themes of the year 2018.
The Klarsfeld couple's fight in the hunt for former Nazis was also a big success. Extracts from films, press brochures, large explanatory panels etc. present their actions in the service of justice. The inauguration of the exhibition took place in their presence and an evening, debate, film was even organized at the University Center Mediterranean (CUM), not far from there, early 2019.
This last floor offers exhibitions with many multimedia media, which gives the museum a very lively and modern character. Jean-Pierre Barbero, the head of the museum, and his teams, offer visitors a very pleasant place to visit and browse.
A bucolic garden
As is often the case in the beautiful city of Nice, a magnificent garden surrounds the museum located between the rue de France and the Promenade des Anglais, right next to the hotel Negresco. Many benches allow to rest in the shelter of the vegetation. Note that a side garden side sea hosts the memorial of the victims of the attack of July 14, 2016.
Infos and links
- 65 Rue de France 06000 Nice
- +33 (0)4 93 91 19 10
- Wikipedia Villa Massena
- Twitter Villa Massena