Born in 1947, Jacques Garcia studied at the Peninghen School of Interior Design in Paris. If his clients went by the famous names of d’Ornano, Mauboussin or the Brunei Sultan, his work took an important turn with the hospitality group Lucien Barriere. He indeed started with the renovation of the Hotel Royal in Deauville and then renovated all the flagship hotels of the group as the mythical Hotel Majestic in Cannes or the Hotel Normandy in Deauville.

Of world renown is Jacques Garcia’s ten-year renovation of Champ de Bataille, a 17th century French chateau and gardens he acquired in 1992. Situated in Normandy, the Champ de Bataille displays the full range of Jacques Garcia’s talent, its drawing rooms, galleries, game rooms, and libraries a blending of genres that speak to his rare talent. Inspired by the designs of André Lenôtre, the gardens of Champ de Bataille are one of the largest, 20th century private landscape gardening projects, receiving more than 30,000 visitors every year.

Photo Credit: Mario Testino

is the Capital of Baroque in Sicily and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is perched on a plateau overlooking the Asinaro valley, covered by citrus, olive and almond trees.
If you love Baroque architecture I recommend to visit also the nearby cities  Ragusa, Modica and Siracusa with its stunning Ortigia.

It is a fascinating journey to the discovery of these towns built with the typical honey-colored stone, illuminated by the rays of the sun during the day and by the warm artificial lights in the evening. This is the same stone which characterized Noto in Sicily, giving it a unique charm. I also planned a wonderful itinerary to visit Ragusa, Modica and Scicli, just to get captured by their endless beauty.