Villa Thuret in Antibes (06)
House located in Antibes (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur - Alpes-Maritimes), it was certified in 2018
The illustrious
Gustave Thuret Botanist and algologist (1817-1875) is best known for working on the reproduction of algae in Normandy. But for health reasons, he was forced to settle in the south of France and in 1857, he acquired a plot on Cap d'Antibes, where he had his house built, which became Villa Thuret. To develop the land, he dedicates this garden of the French Riviera to the introduction of exotic plants and their study, which then serves as a Mediterranean annex to the Jardin des plantes de Paris. Botanist passionate about these introduced species, he is at the origin of their diffusion and acclimatization on the seaside, to become the symbol of this Costa Rican territory.
If Gustave Thuret built and built this villa where he lived and received many scientists but also diplomats and artists, he was assisted in his work by imminent specialists like Edouard Bornet (1828-1911), his friend and specialist of lichens, who finalized and published their studies after his death in 1875. Other scientists such as Charles Naudin and Georges Poirault continued the work of G. Thuret in the villa, which was then permanently attached to a research institute.
The house
While Villa Thuret was the living place of Gustave Thuret, it was also his work place, and the garden the experimental ground. The garden is inseparable from the villa and the research she witnessed. After the death of G. Thuret, Villa Thuret was given to the state in 1877 and became a place of higher education. The Centre agronomique de Provence moved there in turn and Villa Thuret was gradually transformed into a laboratory where teams of entomology, agronomy and plant physiology worked. In 1946, INRA was created and moved to Villa Thuret. Expansion work was undertaken at that time to build new laboratories and accommodate research teams. The imprint of the life of the illustrious within the villa is finally not marked today; the research team has created a room dedicated to him and has preserved the historical library, because the layout of the house in laboratories has continually changed its organization.
Beyond the villa itself, the garden, labeled «remarkable garden», is the intimate witness of all teams of botanists and their work. Only this one is regularly open to the public.
Status
Property of the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) - Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Research Centre.
Labeled Remarkable Garden
Open to the public
The botanical garden is open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 am and 5.30 pm in winter and from 8 am to 6 pm in summer.
To visit the exhibition dedicated to Gustave Thuret and his successors, please visit the Garden of Villa Thuret or make an appointment by email: thuret-PACA@inrae.fr.
Free individual tour, group tour upon reservation. Guided tour possibilities.
Cultural and educational provision
Reception of school groups and walks in the garden with the partners of Inra (CPIE and Association of Friends of the garden of the villa Thuret).
Botanical Garden Villa Thuret
90 Raymond Road
06160 Antibes Juan-les-Pins
Contact: 04 92 38 64 70
messaging: thuret-paca@inrae.fr - site: https://www6.sophia.inrae.fr/jardin_thuret/
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