George and Amal Clooney managed to avoid disaster last week when their villa in Provence came close to being affected by a fire that broke out in the local area.
According to reports from Var Matin, a fire broke out close to their vast estate in the rural countryside close to Brignoles in the early afternoon of Friday, July 11.
Authorities were quickly called to the scene. Twenty firefighters, along with two water bombing helicopters, five trucks and two command vehicles all tackled the blaze and successfully “contained the fire within the solar park” as reported in Paris Match.
Thankfully, the fire did not spread beyond the photovoltaic park, which is operated by the energy renewables company, Voltalia.
© WireImageThe cause of the fire has not been made public. Meanwhile, the Hollywood A-list couple, who married in 2014, haven’t commented on the news.
The pair bought their stunning property, named Domaine La Canadel in 2021 and have since spent a lot of their time here with their two children, Alexander and Ella, aged eight.
© Getty ImagesGeorge and Amal Clooney’s French bolthole in sleepy village
Not only is the villa beautiful, but it also affords the ultra-famous couple plenty of privacy.
The property sits on 425 acres of land and comes with a vineyard. On site, they’re fortunate enough to have a full-sized swimming pool, tennis courts, a guest house, and huge gardens for their two kids to play.
© Variety via Getty ImagesThe building itself is stunning. The villa is a 18th-century farmhouse-style villa that comes with multiple bedrooms, bathrooms and reception rooms.
There is also a huge kitchen and dining area, perfect for hosting, and gorgeous high-ceilinged rooms that lead out onto a stunning terraced patio.
After parting with a cool £8 million to secure the property in 2021, the Clooneys reportedly spent a large sum of money renovating the interiors to their own taste.
© AlamyAlthough they made sure to keep the Mediterranean theme. In fact, according to Vincent Sauvestre, who works for Terres & Domaines estate agents, the pair used their villa in Lake Como, Italy, as inspiration for the redesign.
“[George] has done everything in an Italian style, no doubt just like at his Lake Como home,” he told Paris Match, who also reported that the Clooneys had hired high-end decorators and designers from Paris to get to work on the renovations.
© FacebookThe Clooneys’ private life in Provence
The famous couple might own multiple properties around the globe, including in the States, the United Kingdom and Italy, but their French chateau offers them a quiet, countryside lifestyle that they don’t get anywhere else.
The Oscar-winning actor told The New York Times that their ‘hands-on’ lifestyle in the country is reminiscent of his own childhood growing up in Kentucky.
“Growing up in Kentucky, all I wanted was to get away from a farm, get away from that life. Now, I find myself back in that life. I drive a tractor and all those things. It’s the best chance of a normal life.”
