The ultimate battle of a neo-lord to save his gigantic palace from the bulldozers
SURVEY – In Grasse, in the Alpes-Maritimes, a majestic Neoflorentine estate of 5,000 square meters was built by businessman Patrick Diter. Without all the necessary permissions. At the end of a legal battle with its neighbors, the Court of Cassation recorded its demolition.
It is the story of a man overwhelmed by his madness for grandeur. Caught, too, by the tenacity of neighbors determined to have the last word. The dispute between Patrick Diter and the Butt spouses could have remained a simple quarrel, it turned into a palace war. “If I had known”, insists today on purpose the ruined businessman.
The core of this latent discord sits on a hill in the Grasse hinterland, not far from Cannes. The doors of the Diter castle – that’s how his friends, after a drunken evening, chose to baptize him – open to us. First, nearly 500 meters of private path and road, then a gigantic scrap gate, a little faded, like the Range Rover which leads us within this exceptional property. The stage is set. Here we are, nestled in the heart of lush greenery.
Read also :Ruined castle, demolished historic villas: the small heritage is gradually disappearing
Patrick Diter’s house is a maze of extravagance, kitsch, and beauty too. Outside, multitudes of gardens, including grass
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