Alain Delon: his riad in Marrakech, the Zahia Palace
Alain Delon left us on August 18, leaving behind the Douchy estate in Loiret, his final home. But the legendary actor has owned several properties around the world, displaying an extensive real estate portfolio between Paris, Aix-en-Provence and Marrakech. In the 1980s, he fell in love with the Palais Zahia, located in the heart of the ocher city.
A double wooden door hand-painted by decorator William Willis opens into the dining room. In the background, a fireplace and a Turkish porcelain candlestick. Photograph published in an issue of Vogue in 1970.© Photo by Jacques Bachmann/Conde Nast via Getty Images
In the large living room, the floor and walls are decorated with all-over Moroccan zelliges and the ceiling displays a hand-painted 19th century fresco. In addition to Alain Delon, the riad has had illustrious owners such as Talitha and Paul Getty, Arielle Dombasle and BHL…© Photo by Jacques Bachmann/Conde Nast via Getty Images
Alain Delon buys the palace from the Getty family
Paul and Talitha Getty are the first notable occupants of this Marrakech palace. Son of oil tycoon Paul Getty, John Paul Getty Jr. was the heir to one of the richest families in the United States when he met Talitha Pol in 1965. The couple met on the occasion of a social dinner and got married the following year, madly in love. They decide to buy the Zahia Palace in Marrakech, a delicious madness in which they organize wild festivities – the guests even name the house “the palace of pleasures” we seem to be having so much fun there… The house is the scene of wild evenings, the guests are none other than Mick Jagger, Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent and the great personalities of the time. Talitha and Paul Getty separated and the young woman died following a heroin overdose on July 11, 1971, in Rome. The Zahia Palace and its interiors designed by William Willis were then orphaned. Its next owner will be none other than Alain Delon.
In the bedroom, formerly that of Talitha and Paul Getty then Alain Delon, the four-poster bed sits in an intimate alcove.© Photo by Jacques Bachmann/Conde Nast via Getty Images
Alain Delon’s former riad has a lush outdoor garden. At the end of a zellige path, a stone fountain.© Photo by Jacques Bachmann/Conde Nast via Getty Images
And sold it to Arielle Dombasle and Bernard-Henri Lévy
The actor fell in love with Morocco but also with this palace where artistic craftsmanship reigns. The wooden doors are carved and painted by hand, the candlesticks made of Turkish porcelain and the zelliges adorn the house from floor to ceiling, including the stained glass windows. It is with Mireille Darc that Alain Delon spends most of his time at the Palais Zahia, a true oasis with a lush garden and a swimming pool. At the top of the riad, a roof terrace serves as a solarium – we know that Talitha Getty liked to scatter a myriad of Berber carpets and cushions on the ground in order to rest there, under the rays of a blazing sun. Alain Delon sold the property to Arielle Dombasle and Bernard-Henri Lévy, also in love with Morocco. According to the article The heart rumbles in Marrakech published in Libération on October 2, 2003, the riad would then be located near the palace of King Mohammed VI: “The BHL-Arielle Dombasle couple bought the Zahia Palace from Alain Delon, with its swimming pool and garden impossible to guess from the muddy alley that leads there, and located a stone’s throw from the palace of the young King Mohammed VI. » A beautiful waltz from the owners for a place rich in history…
What was Alain Delon’s real estate assets?
In addition to the Zahia Palace, Alain Delon was the owner of apartments and houses with sumptuous decorations – a large real estate portfolio.
Avenue du Président-Kennedy, Alain Delon has an apartment punctuated by Art Deco influences. With an area of 780 m2the triplex navigates between the 7th and 9th floors, each with its own terrace. At the top, the largest adjoins the actor’s office, whose work space with ocher tiles and straw blinds opens directly onto a pair of sun loungers. There are six bedrooms and as many bathrooms, a service bedroom, a fully equipped kitchen, a gym, a sauna and a hammam. The two master suites share space on the seventh floor, facing the Eiffel Tower. Alain Delon’s bedroom features walls painted in a midnight blue shade, fur throws and period pieces like the gilded mirror and the carved wooden chest of drawers. Subsequently, the legend of French cinema lived there with Mireille Darc; together, they engage in large games of backgammon on the roof. When he entered the real estate market in 2012, commissioned by Paris Ouest Sotheby’s, the triplex caused a stir. And for good reason, its price is close to 46 million euros, unheard of at the time.
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