Villefranche-sur-Mer Harbour

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.

Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.

It is a small town on the French Riviera, about six kilometres east of Nice and twenty-three west of Monaco, in the Alpes-Maritimes department of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The local train from Nice-Ville reaches the station on the harbour in roughly six minutes.

The Rade de Villefranche is a natural bay carved by a steeply dropping seabed and shielded between Mont Boron and Cap Ferrat. Depths reach about 95 metres only a short distance from shore, which is why cruise ships and warships have anchored inside it for centuries.

A 14th-century fishermen's chapel on the harbour quay, redecorated in 1957 by the writer and artist Jean Cocteau. He covered the interior walls in spare black-line frescoes of Saint Peter, fishermen, and the women of the village. It is open to visitors most days for a small fee.

From 1948 to 1966 the Rade served as a Mediterranean home port for the United States Sixth Fleet. France's withdrawal from NATO's integrated military command in 1966 ended the arrangement, and the fleet relocated to Gaeta, Italy.

A covered 13th-century street running under the houses of the old town, originally built as a sheltered defensive passage. It is one of the oldest surviving covered streets in Europe and is still in everyday use.

Charles II of Anjou, Count of Provence, founded the port in 1295. He named it Villefranche, meaning 'free town', and granted tax exemptions to attract ships and merchants. The harbour later passed to the Duchy of Savoy and joined France in 1860.

A 16th-century fortress on the western arm of the harbour, built between 1554 and 1557 by Duke Emmanuel-Philibert of Savoy to defend the port. It now houses the town hall and several small museums, and is open to visitors free of charge.

It has been a quiet gift for many of our customers with connections to the Riviera, especially Villefranche, Nice, or Cap Ferrat. The harbour reads instantly to anyone who has stood on the quay or taken the train down from Nice. A Keepsake or Coaster with a handwritten studio note travels well.

The deep cobalt and ochre tones sit well in Mediterranean-modern interiors, Coastal-modern rooms with a warmer palette, and Jewel-tone Maximalist arrangements. The artwork reads strongly against off-white plaster, lime wash, and pale oak. It is less at home against cool grey or industrial-black backgrounds.

Yes. The Mediterranean palette and the architectural silhouettes align with the warmer, more European turn that Coastal-modern has taken in recent years. The cobalt of the bay reads as a colour pin rather than a beach pastel, which is what current design directions are looking for.

Above a standard sofa we recommend a single Large or, for impact, a four-tile Mural. Above a console or a credenza, a Medium reads cleanly. For a stairwell or a long hallway wall, the nine-tile Mural is the right scale.

Yes. For wet or splash-prone walls we recommend the Dura Satin or Matte finishes, which are scratch-resistant and sheen-controlled. The Glossy finish is intended for framed wall art in dry rooms.

A microfibre cloth and a little water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and rests beneath a thin glossy finish, so household cleaners and ordinary handling do not affect it. No abrasive pads.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work by Reid Wender, the studio's curator, hand-finished in our Knoxville studio. We do not license artwork from third parties and we do not reproduce another artist's work.