An American, Edward N. Dickerson, in 1913, brought together six plots of land belonging to different owners to build a villa and a garden in the Révoires district, Boulevard de l’Observatoire.
In 1993, a Monégasque limited company bought the Villa from the Fissore family. Two years later it was sold to the Monégasque State. It was decided in 2008 to dedicate it to the New National Museum of Monaco. The transformed Villa Paloma had to preserve its original appearance and remain in the middle of the garden, keeping its balcony overlooking the city. Partition walls were knocked down and the space became more open plan. In addition, the four floors, split up by a grand staircase, had furniture removed to free up more space, allowing art work to be dispayed.
However, the Villa’s character has not been lost. It is still present in the conservation of the decorations of the grand staircase, its stained glass windows, mosaics, columns and ceiling cornices. It can also be seen in the attention paid to maintaining certain views of the outside. Thus, in each showroom, two windows make it possible to preserve the charm of natural light as well as the villa’s character.
All spaces are accessible to the public and dedicated to exhibitions. All technical and logistical aspects are kept out of sight, housed in an underground extension that was built in place of the former swimming pool and whose roof is now the entrance to the museum. The garden is the real show piece of the Villa. It has retained its Italian garden appearance with a balcony overlooking the city and the sea. In addition, the existing vegetation has been maintained and there has been talk of creating links with the Princess Antoinette Park and the Anthropology Museum.
