Tuscan-style villa offends Provence
A British couple have won a battle to have a sprawling faux palazzo in Provence torn down after it ruined their idyllic rural retreat.
Nestling in the hills behind Grasse, France’s perfume capital, Chateau Diter has provided the backdrop for society weddings and the UK TV show Riviera.
But its owner, Patrick Diter, was ordered to tear it down after judges ruled its building permit had been obtained fraudulently in 2006.
The property is to be restored to the relatively modest 200m² country home it was before 2006.
There was no immediate reaction from neighbours, including British couple Stephen and Caroline Butt, who have been battling for years against the villa owner.
During the protracted battle, Caroline remarked: “France is not a banana republic, but in the south of France, that is exactly the way it is behaving.” —