In Montpellier’s Aiguelongue district, a strange, almost abandoned villa in the shape of a medieval castle is the venue for parties and gatherings.
Montpellier isn’t just worth a visit for its Museum of Anatomy, or for a stroll through the Saint-Roch or Port Marianne districts. No, Montpellier is also about that little touch of madness at the turn of a street, with the mysterious Villa des Cent Regards. Some even nickname this space the « Maison du fada » (the house of the madman), in reference to its creator.
Birth of the Villa
In 1950, a rather imaginative mason by the name of Victor Grazzi had the idea of constructing an unusual building. A lifelong fan of reinforced concrete, he decided to build a house in his own image using his favorite material. Everything would be in concrete, including doors, windows and shutters.
Victor Grazzi in 1969 – Photo credit: La Villa des Cent Regards
This truly atypical house features unconventional lines for this type of building, straight lines with right angles. This medieval castle-like residence is also a love story, not only of a man keen to demonstrate his skills (his diploma would never be recognized by his bosses), but also of his wife, Ida, who helped him build the house.
She’s there every step of the way, filling the buckets with cement, mixing the concrete, and carrying the buckets with the help of pulleys and ropes.
Photo credit: Facebook – Experience at the Villa des Cents Regards
Photo credit: Facebook – Experience at the Villa des Cents Regards
All the savings of the Grazzi household went into the project, and Victor decided to use salvaged materials to complete his personal « work »: the floor was covered with various types of cement tiles, scrap metal and other materials were collected from the garbage dump, and even mattress springs were used as iron rods to consolidate the concrete.
While the house was still under construction, Ida died. Victor Grazzi lived alone in his work of concrete and tried every means possible to bring it to completion, adding here and there disparate and original decorative elements such as a miniature replica of the Coquille mansion (found in old Montpellier), plant elements and boxwood balls.
Photo credit: Facebook – Experience at the Villa des Cents Regards
As the sun’s rays hit the façades, the house is transformed into a fairy-tale setting. Victor Grazzi decided to call his house the Villa des Cent Regards. According to him, all you have to do is walk around the house to see 100 different views. Some would also say that there were as many as 100 small windows in the house, each a different way of looking at the world.
A lively cultural venue
The Villa des Cent Regards has since become a cultural haven for young and old alike.
Photo credit: Facebook – Experience at the Villa des Cents Regards
Photo credit: La Villa des Cent Regards
While during the day, children come to play knights defending a medieval castle, when night falls, the place becomes a place for parties, but also a place for indelicate visitors who steal, ransack, plunder decorative elements, slash decorations and cover walls with tags.
In the 1980s, the city of Montpellier acquired the Villa des Cent Regards, but left it abandoned: the house became a ghost in the middle of the Aiguelongue district. It wasn’t until 2005 that the Villa was bought by COBATY, an association of building and urban planning professionals, and the Lycée Léonard de Vinci developed cultural activities there.
Today, the Villa des Cents Regards has become a cultural landmark, hosting a variety of events, exhibitions, art workshops and more.
To get there, go to 1000, rue de la Roqueturière in Montpellier. You won’t be disappointed!