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Castello San Peyre at Opio Readers of Winifred Fortescue's books will be very familiar with her close friend Elisabeth Starr, 'Mademoiselle', (and her dog 'Squibbs'), an American who took French citizenship and lived just down the mountain at Castello San Peyre. The Castello features in most of the books, as a home, a billet for soldiers, etc. It had formerly sheltered eight peasant families and their animals. In 'Escape to Provence' the author states that according to local lore it had past served as one of the grand summer dwellings of the monks of a local monastery, possibly the rich and powerful Benedictines of île St Honorat off the coast of Cannes. (An order now replaced by Cistercians). Having worked hard for the Red Cross in the area during WWI, Eisabeth Starr stayed on at the Castello during WWII and was primarily responsible for the setting up of the the Foyers du Soldat for the French troops in Provence and the Alps. Sadly, after Winifred's escape to England, she died of malnutrition during the war and Winifred never saw her again.
The Castello has survived and some photographs of it today appear below. It is available to rent for holidays and has 9 bedrooms sleeping 15 people and is fully renovated with a pool and sauna. Built in the c17 as a small Bastide, the Castello is set in extensive grounds with vineyards and has superb views in all directions. For further details of how to rent the property click here or use the link to Rent Villas France at the bottom of the page.
Pictures - Rent Villas France |
