Nellcôte

Nellcôte (often referred to as Villa Nellcôte) is a 19th century sixteen-room mansion on the waterfront of Villefranche-sur-Mer in the Côte d'Azur region of southern France. Nellcôte was leased during the summer of 1971 by Keith Richards, guitarist for The Rolling Stones, and recording sessions for their classic 1972 Exile on Main St. album took place in the villa's basement.^[1]

History

In the late 1890s, a former banker, Eugene Thomas, built the imposing villa whose frontage was decorated with iconic columns made out of marble. At the outset, the villa bore the name of "Amicitia Castle". In 1919, the villa, since renamed "Nellcôte", was acquired by the Bordes family, famous shipowners specializing in the transport of sodium nitrate between Chile and France.

Adding infamy to the residence's history, Nellcôte served as the headquarters of the local Gestapo during the Nazi occupation of France in the early 1940s, with the floor vents in the basement of the villa reportedly being decorated with swastikas.

Notes

1. ^ Greenfield, Robert (8 September 2006). "Making "Exile on Main Street"". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11569598/the_rolling_stones_making_their_masterpiece_exile_on_main_street. Retrieved 2009-04-09. 

Coordinates: 43°42′6.5″N 7°19′17.5″E / 43.701806°N 7.321528°E / 43.701806; 7.321528