English castle
THE
n April 19, 1856 the Municipal Council of NICE, in an extraordinary general assembly, sells to Colonel SMITH 22,000 m² of uncultivated land at Mont BORON and the king approves this contract on May 8.
The castle was built in an original way in 3 years, its silhouette emerging on the horizon and reminiscent of
the living memory of INDIA. Colonel SMITH surrounds him with a garden whose soil is brought to
great expense.
It should not be forgotten that this colonel, an engineer officer in the English army, had worked in the
fortifications of DELHI and, haunted by ASIA, wanted to live in an architectural setting that evoked it.
He also painted the splendours of the Far East, including a painting 20 meters long and high
of 70 cm, where all Indian life was represented from the sumptuous court of the Sultan to the severe tent of the fakir.
On December 27, 1861, an exhibition of local painters opened under the arcades of the terraces of this new residence.
