The 17th century Ibiza finca of the founder of Galer&iacute;a Elefante is a reflection of a life spent travelling the globe in search of authenticity, artisans and adventure.

<blockquote>
 We first stumbled across Es Pou&agrave;s in the nineties. My childhood summer home wasn&rsquo;t far away from here and I grew up riding around Santa Agnes on a Mobylette. I would always dream of having my own house here. When we found the house it had some lovely <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/peace-and-love-and-protests-the-evolution-of-ibiza-s-hippies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hippies</a> living in it. I was with my my husband, Fran&ccedil;ois, [Gasse, the celebrated French immunisation pioneer] and I had our infant son <a href="https://lagaleriaelefante.com/product/prints-by-emile-durrer-gasse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emile </a>strapped to my chest. They must have thought we looked like the right kind of people to hand over the reins to. I have always felt that a house chooses you. I just walked inside and went &lsquo;Oh my god, yes.&rsquo;
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 This table has travelled everywhere with us. I bought it on Portobello Road around 35 years ago and it's an old Indian sultans' bed, the type that would have been taken on hunting trips. It has the most marvellous colour and grain, almost like a river running through it. The little wire sculpture I bought in the market in Goa from some hippies. It&rsquo;s made with English pennies and a very fine brass arm with a little hollow at one end, into which you place feathers, which act as a counterweight. The year I found it I had lost my mother and I kept seeing feathers fall in my path everywhere, so it&rsquo;s very special to me.&nbsp;The little black and white artwork on the wall is by Burnex, a French graffiti artist. It's a sort of homage to our dog, Pluto.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 My style is very eclectic and cosy, with a bit of an exotic <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/documenting-the-past-the-ibiza-finca-portfolio-of-sayana-cairo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">country house</a> vibe. There are Moroccan rugs, antique textiles, a 1940&rsquo;s rocking chair and my mother's old sofa, which was probably bought in Peter Jones on the King&rsquo;s Road in London in about 1970. I collect paintings and religious iconography. I&rsquo;m not in the slightest bit religious Christian, I just have my own beliefs, in which I include a little bit of everything.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 I used to sell these chairs, they&rsquo;re from Morocco. The arch is one of the defining features of the house &ndash; it&rsquo;s very majestic and has featured in several books and advertising campaigns. The French clothing label Sezane shot here last summer.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 My grandmother bought this little table in India during her time living there. It&rsquo;s inlaid with mother of pearl and different tropical woods. Travelling has always been a theme in my family. My father used to go to the most unusual places. I particularly remember him going to the north of Greece in the 1950s and hiking some obscure forgotten trail, staying in monasteries along the way. I certainly think travel is in my blood. The little carved marble cow is also from India, where all cows are considered sacred.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 This terrace would have originally been used for drying <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/five-of-the-best-ibiza-farm-shops" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fruit and vegetables</a> and has become a favourite place of ours to hang out. Emile plays his guitar up here and we play solitaire on the little Indonesian table. These tables are great &ndash; like little moveable coffee tables &ndash; so useful. It&rsquo;s always cooler up here.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 I collect these beautiful old Ibicencan chairs. My neighbour Antonia must be nearly 80 years old and she still strings them in the traditional way for me using esparto grass. I&rsquo;m fascinated by anything that's made by hand or has a cultural history. Anything made slowly. It&rsquo;s nice when you see a mistake and it's not all perfect, because life isn't perfect. We all learn from mistakes. We're all a web of little woven knots
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 I&rsquo;m half Swiss and I bought two of the dining chairs in a Geneva flea market when I was working at the World Health Organisation. It was there that I met Fran&ccedil;ois, who was working overseas on his tetanus vaccination programme, and I began to travel with him. He would work and I'd go on travelling. We went to Nepal, Ethiopia, Japan. We've always been quite intrepid.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 I love sand dollars and this one I found in Kenya. The little gold cup is actually a dried mangosteen shell. We bought those on our first day in Burma maybe 30 years ago. I&rsquo;d love to go back to Burma and to Bhutan, to the East. The carved marble hands are a beautiful symbol of <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/soul-spirituality/empowering-journaling-prompts-and-reflections-for-the-end-of-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gratitude</a> and generosity.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 The ceiling in my bedroom is still packed with seaweed in the traditional finca style and is very old indeed. In winter we sleep under this hand crocheted bedspread from Nepal, where I work with a foundation that supports local education opportunities. The bedspreads are made especially for <a href="https://lagaleriaelefante.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Galer&iacute;a Elefante</a> from very heavy cotton and are super snug at night. The <a href="https://lagaleriaelefante.com/product-category/home-and-living/cushions-and-blankets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small cushion</a> is handmade by one of our NGOs in India. The larger one is from my old friend <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/people-of-ibiza/vicente-ganesha-portraits-lofficiel-ibiza">Vicente Ganesha.&nbsp;</a>
 <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/people-of-ibiza/vicente-ganesha-portraits-lofficiel-ibiza"> </a>
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 I have always collected kaleidoscopes. Fran&ccedil;ois often buys me one for my birthday and some of these are very old. I'm fascinated by colour and mirror and reflection, anything multi-faceted.&nbsp; We bought one of them on Mercer Street in New York, years before the area was cool, when it was really old SoHo. The books represent a tiny fragement of Francois&rsquo; library on primitive African art. We are both avid readers and researchers.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 &nbsp;The house was built in 1640 and can be largely dated by the stone floors on the stairs and in my bedroom. They are from the quarry in San Mateo, which closed soon after, and have the most remarkable patina.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 Our son (the <a href="https://lagaleriaelefante.com/product/prints-by-emile-durrer-gasse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">photographer</a> <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/art/emile-durrer-gasses-captures-spirit-of-ibizas-coastline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emile Durrer Gasse</a>) has been exploring the coasts of Ibiza since he was a baby. He dives a lot and brings back these iridescent shells, which are almost like miniature abalone shells. Fran&ccedil;ois was raised largely in the Congo and he is a passionate collector of antique African tribal art. The little leather protection rattles are from the Congo's Bamba tribe.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 My mother was a great cook and so many of my childhood memories revolve around the kitchen. Ours is not a big kitchen, but it's just perfect in terms of how it works. I love the elevated aspect &ndash; it&rsquo;s kind of like being on a stage except no-one can see all the mess you're making. We&rsquo;re mostly vegetarian and eat lots of veggies and nuts, but at the weekend I love to do a roast pay&eacute;s chicken with lemons and garlic.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
 Fran&ccedil;ois has been working with vaccines in develioping countries for most of his life, and has collected many of these ritual spoons in Africa. They are used in ceremonies relating to fertility, ancestors, marriage, death and witchcraft. Everything in traditional tribal life comes back to ritual. The recess in the wall would traditionally have been used for holding earthenware vessels of water.
</blockquote>

En casa de: Victoria Durrer Gasse

Tags

Related Articles

Ibiza

Architecture: The Hidden Jungle

Ibiza

'We are the ancestors of tomorrow' - Curawaka’s Anna Bariyani

Ibiza

At home in Ibiza with Farfetch’s Stephanie Phair

Recommended posts for you

Ibiza

The Ting Tings: Writing HOME in Ibiza

Soul

Discover Bovisaj - A New Holistic Method for Well-Being

Fashion

10 Timeless Jewellery Pieces That Made Cannes Red Carpet History

Ibiza

The Oracle of Talamanca: Karimah Hassan’s Colour-Drenched Dreamstate

Fashion

These Are The Must-Have Prada Bags for Summer 2025

Fashion

Google and Gentle Monster Launch Smart Glasses with Style

Food

Homemade Smoothies for Beautiful Skin

Ibiza

Ibiza Dreamers: Eric & Aleix Sanllehy