The origins of the Chateau Volterra are marvelously shrouded in mystery and touched with romance.

It is generally accepted that construction of the Chateau began in 1906, took six years, and that the builder was an English aristocrat. According to local lore, the Englishman developed a passion for a Saint-Tropez beauty and planned the chateau as a love-nest; sadly, the romance waned before the chateau fulfilled its purpose. Other, less romantic, stories abound, all involving an Englishman, but the truth may never be learned as, curiously, the man's name never appears in any of the local registries. If the reason for the construction of the chateau’Äîthen known as Chateau Camarat, after the promontory it occupies’Äîis unclear, the stories of the construction itself are well documented. The stones used in the chateau's walls and in its Italian-style terraced gardens were quarried at Cap Drammont in the Esterel and carried to the property by tartanes tropeziennes, the local boats. Mule trains then hauled the stones by the wagonload up the steep hill to the site.

In 1926, the property passed into the hands of Monsieur Lˆ©on Volterra, a larger-than-life theatre impressario from Paris who, during a visit to Saint-Tropez’Äîalready a gathering place for the stars of the day’Äîwas swept off his feet by another local siren, Simone, a fisherman's daughter. They were married within the year.

Monsieur Volterra was manager of four theatres in Paris: the Casino de Paris, the Thˆ©atre de Paris, the Thˆ©atre Marigny and the Lido. He also orchestrated the careers of stars Mistinguett and Maurice Chevalier, directed the Folies Bergˆ®res, created the Luna Park at Porte-Maillot and owned a stable of race horses.

When elected mayor of Saint-Tropez in 1936, M. Volterra had little time for his official functions and left matters in Simone's capable hands. "The Lady Mayoress," as she became known, was a popular figure in the area, a tireless promoter of its cultural life and, evidently an indefatigable hostess. In its heyday’Äîthe 1930s and early 1940s’ÄîChateau Volterra saw a constant flow of well-known actors and artists, several of whom were semi-resident, and a stream of spectacular-looking chorus girls. Among the celebrity guests were Raimu, Josˆ©phine Baker, Colette and Jean Cocteau. The war years brought frequent visits from prominent figures of the Resistance.

The Volterras' marriage fell apart shortly after the war but Simone remained at the Chateau, selling off parcels of land to make ends meet. She continued to welcome actors, painters and writers to the Chateau, and each year at Christmas, threw it open to the entire village of Ramatuelle. In later years she became an ardent supporter of the village's annual open-air theatre festival at which, until her death in 1989, she occupied a front row seat for every performance,