Domaine Foncin

Located at the western entrance to the town, Domaine Foncin is particularly noteworthy for its white bastide, located at the top of a hill and overlooking the sea. At the end of the 1880s, the FONCINs, a young couple on their honeymoon, discovered the Corniche des Maures. In 1890 they bought a 15 hectare estate at Le Dattier and in 1894 built a holiday home there: "Le Casteu Dou Souleu". The family used to come there on holiday by the train des Pignes...

The "maison blanche" quickly became a bitter for sailors and aviators and was thus mentioned on navigation charts.

The FONCIN family has always been sensitive to the protection of the environment. Mr FONCIN, a talented academic and eminent geographer, founded one of the first associations to fight forest fires with friends from Cavaller.

After the death of their father in 1917, Mireille and Myriam Foncin stayed on the estate from time to time. Mireille was one of the first members of the Regional Association for the Protection of Birds and Nature. In 1975, she settled permanently on the estate and, in 1977, she donated her property and the 15 hectares surrounding it to the Conservatoire du Littoral in order to guarantee its permanent protection: this was the first bequest made to the Conservatoire du Littoral.

After her death in 1996, the Conservatoire du Littoral began serious studies, wanting to give this emblematic site an exceptional use compatible with the donor's wishes: education and nature protection.