Welcome to Mons and welcome to my house...

I wish that I could stay here all year round, but sadly I can’t. When I am not in Mons, my house is available for rent, Summer, Winter, Autumn and Spring.

I first fell in love with Le Var many years ago, visiting with my family and working in Cannes, the local city. My life long passion for the arts – and particularly the painters of the last century – led me to wander around the region and I began to discover hidden gems. The Chagall mosaic at Chapelle Ste-Roseline, the quirky Max Ernst sculpture in Seillans village square.

And then one day my fascination with Picasso – the man and the painter – led me to try and find Le Minotaur. The house that Picasso died in and is still, more than thirty years on, part of an estate disputed by his family and heirs. It isn’t publicised, it’s not on the map, but with research I found where I thought it should be and set off to find it.

When the great man died in 1973 I remember the television library shots of him and Jacqueline sweeping down the drive to Le Minotaur in their Hispano-Suiza. Decades later I found a completely overgrown, chained up pathway that was in the right place and seemed familiar from those TV images. I wandered alone along what was now a narrow path and came to the chained up gates of Le Minotaur. Looking through the chains and undergrowth I could see the house. And something only an art lover would understand – I cried with emotion.

Years later, still discovering, I bought a house in one of Le Var’s highest – and most unspoilt villages - Mons. There I installed my library of books and collected DVD’s about the great artists. Now I want you to enjoy the experience of Var. To wallow, indulge and discover both the hidden art and the beautiful village of Mons.

This home page has pictures of Mons in Summer and Winter. It’s beautiful all year round and, although thirty-five kilometres from Cannes, both the city and the Mediterranean are clearly in view from the roof terrace. Which is not surprising – because when the Romans established the encampment that became Mons….that is what they called it. Mons: Latin for mountain.

I hope that you and your friends will stay at 31 Rue Pierre Porre and enjoy your time there as much as I do.

Richard Morris