Cabris, a writers' village on the heights of the French Riviera.
- Olivier
- Oct 19, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 22
Why is Cabris called "The Village of Great Writers"?
This is the story of a friendship between Aline de Saint Hubert and Maria Van Rysselberghe. Aline is a Luxembourgish woman of letters and patron of the arts.
She married Emile Mayrisch, a wealthy Luxembourg steelworker. Both of them were very concerned by the Franco-German rapprochement, both culturally and industrially, and they created the Colpach Circle, a European meeting centre in their castle, which they bought in 1917 in Luxembourg, where many intellectuals met. André Gide was one of the first guests.
Maria Van Rysselberghe married Théo van Rysselberghe, a neo-impressionist painter and friend of Signac. They both lived in Lavandou where they had a house called the Villa Saint-Clair. André Gide was very attached to Maria and visited her frequently. The van Rysselberghe's daughter, Elisabeth, later bought a villa in Cabris, Les Audides, where she lived with Catherine, the long-hidden daughter of André Gide, who eventually recognised her.
The Mayrischs moved to Cabris in 1938 to a house they called La Messuguière where they often went with their intellectual and artistic friends.
Aline died there on 24 January 1947. In homage to her mother, her daughter Andrée Viénot, wife of Henri Viénot, a French politician, transformed La Messuguière into a rest home for writers, historians and scientists.
La Messuguière became a meeting place for these intellectuals until 1979. There were so many of them that it is impossible to name them all.
La Messuguière is now a private property which you will see on the side of the road leading to the Domaine de La Xavolière.
Albert Camus discovered Cabris in 1950 and stayed there several times because the climate was very good for his health. It is also known that Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's mother bought a house there, which she called Les Fioretti, where she lived from the age of 63 to 97. It is said that Antoine de Saint-Exupéry finished writing Terre des Hommes at the Horizon Hotel in the village.
To pay tribute to all these artists we have decided to name the rooms of our guest house after these lovers of Cabris: Albert Camus, André Gide, André Malraux, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Paul Valéry, we are waiting for you.
Annick Duboscq
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