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Michele Hermann, the vice mayor of Nemours, France was recently feted at a reception at Nemours Mansion, indubitably the most spectacular pied-á-terre in the state. Her city has been designated Wilmington’s newest “Sister City.”
Madame Hermann was vacationing in America this summer. Next spring she will bring a contingent of “citoyens de Nemours” to our fair state in reciprocity with a group of Delawareans journeying to visit her this past spring.
The French city, about 40 miles south of “La Ville de Lumineres,” is the ancestral home of the du Pont family. In the 18th Century, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (E.I.'s pére) was a government official in the Court of King Louis XVI who opposed the French Revolution. He narrowly escaped Madame deFarge's favorite means of mayhem (the guillotine) during the Reign of Terror. In the following turmoil the famille du Pont emigrated with his family to Wilmington in 1799 where his son founded a petite company of some renown.
(A contemporary analogy is Delaware’s own Reign of Terror perpetrated by Christine O'Donnell. In lieu of deFarge’s knitting needles, however, O'Donnell wielded a wand).
Nemours is joined with Kalmar, Sweden, Watford, England, Fulda, Germany and Olevano sul Tusciano, Italy and Osogbo, Nigeria.
Dennis Sheer presides over the volunteer organization, which seeks to foster international understanding at all levels of the community on a continuing basis. Officers are assigned specific cities through which communication is exchanged. Sister Cities operates exchange visits on both a personal and individual basis. Official Delaware visitors generally involve programs around performing arts, fine arts and sports. For more information, visit www.SisterCitiesWilmington.org.
As a wedding present to second wife, A.I. du Pont purchased 3,000 acres just outside city limits. The mansion was designed in the late 18th Century French style that Alicia adored. Alfred named the estate Nemours.
The gardens are the finest examples in North America of formal French gardens, covering 222 acres. Continuing E.I.’s legacy of stewardship of the land, Delawareans are the beneficiary of the vision of P.S. at Longwood, Henry Francis at Winterthur and A.I here at Nemours.
In recent years the Mansion was not user-friendly regarding visitors. That has changed and there is a proactive engagement with tourism agencies. Following the 2008 $39 million renovation, the gilded velvet ropes are down. Executive Director Grace Gary now encourages guests to walk about the grounds and experience how the du Ponts lived. Sacre Bleu...living like the du Ponts! Hmm...let me see:
Michele Hermann, the vice mayor of Nemours, France was recently feted at a reception at Nemours Mansion, indubitably the most spectacular pied-á-terre in the state. Her city has been designated Wilmington’s newest “Sister City.”
Madame Hermann was vacationing in America this summer. Next spring she will bring a contingent of “citoyens de Nemours” to our fair state in reciprocity with a group of Delawareans journeying to visit her this past spring.
The French city, about 40 miles south of “La Ville de Lumineres,” is the ancestral home of the du Pont family. In the 18th Century, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (E.I.'s pére) was a government official in the Court of King Louis XVI who opposed the French Revolution. He narrowly escaped Madame deFarge's favorite means of mayhem (the guillotine) during the Reign of Terror. In the following turmoil the famille du Pont emigrated with his family to Wilmington in 1799 where his son founded a petite company of some renown.
(A contemporary analogy is Delaware’s own Reign of Terror perpetrated by Christine O'Donnell. In lieu of deFarge’s knitting needles, however, O'Donnell wielded a wand).
Nemours is joined with Kalmar, Sweden, Watford, England, Fulda, Germany and Olevano sul Tusciano, Italy and Osogbo, Nigeria.
Dennis Sheer presides over the volunteer organization, which seeks to foster international understanding at all levels of the community on a continuing basis. Officers are assigned specific cities through which communication is exchanged. Sister Cities operates exchange visits on both a personal and individual basis. Official Delaware visitors generally involve programs around performing arts, fine arts and sports. For more information, visit www.SisterCitiesWilmington.org.
As a wedding present to second wife, A.I. du Pont purchased 3,000 acres just outside city limits. The mansion was designed in the late 18th Century French style that Alicia adored. Alfred named the estate Nemours.
The gardens are the finest examples in North America of formal French gardens, covering 222 acres. Continuing E.I.’s legacy of stewardship of the land, Delawareans are the beneficiary of the vision of P.S. at Longwood, Henry Francis at Winterthur and A.I here at Nemours.
In recent years the Mansion was not user-friendly regarding visitors. That has changed and there is a proactive engagement with tourism agencies. Following the 2008 $39 million renovation, the gilded velvet ropes are down. Executive Director Grace Gary now encourages guests to walk about the grounds and experience how the du Ponts lived. Sacre Bleu...living like the du Ponts! Hmm...let me see:
- More than an acre under one roof. I have a roof that aches to be de-mossed!
- Doesn't everyone long for a chandelier once owned by the Marquis de Lafayette? One must!
- In my garden there are brother and sister pelicans. In A.I's there is the statue “Achievement” whose paint was removed and replaced with 23-karat gold leaf.
- The gate to my back yard is off its hinges. The Mansion’s belonged to Henry VIII.
Aisle Say is repulsed by trite phrases like “best kept secret.” Yet I would suggest that very few Delawareans have toured Nemours. While this estate is breathtaking, it pales in comparison to A.I.’s true legacy; the Nemours Foundation and the children it has saved over decades and decades.
For more information, visit www.NemoursMansion.org or call (302) 651-6912.
