Sweden's first supermodel and the actor David Niven's second wife
In search of Lo Scoglietto 2023
During a short city break to Nice in January 2023, I persuaded my family to join me for an adventure to find the Nivens’ house at ‘Lo Scoglietto’. (It’s now called ‘Fleur de Cap’, but I’ll use its old name on this page).
We hopped off the bus in the small town of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, on the northeast side of the Cap Ferrat peninsula. (I’d always imagined ‘Lo Scoglietto’ to be on the southernmost tip for some reason).
I doubt the house would have been difficult to find, but we still asked directions from a group sitting outside a cafe, one of whom happened to be the local mayor (!) They pored over an old photo (see below), eventually recognised the location, and explained that “It has changed a lot.” A short stroll northwards was suggested.
[Karma would be them finding me relaxing in my hometown on a Saturday morning, showing me a 60-year-old aerial photo on a mobile phone, and hoping for instant recognition.]
The main differences in 2023 are not the buildings, but more the surroundings. What looks like a field covered in tracks (to the right of the house) is now a road with a line of houses. That’s now the inland route to ‘Place David Niven.’
The path to the Cap
We decided that the coastal route would be the most scenic. Stepping off the main road through St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, there is a beautiful (and very new-looking) marina leading to a small beach I’ve never seen mentioned by either Niven and a coastal path.