Gazing upon this roadside enclosure, one might wonder about the story behind the Tomb of the Duchess of Plaisance. This marble tomb in Penteli marks the final resting place of Sophie de Marbois Lebrun, a woman of extraordinary influence in 19th-century Athens. She was no ordinary expat. The Duchess of Plaisance was a glamorous socialite. She was a political powerbroker. She commissioned grandiose palaces.
Sophie was born in Philadelphia in 1785. Her father was French statesman Marquis François Barbé de Marbois. She married Anne-Charles Lebrun, Duc de Plaisance, in 1802. Sophie distinguished herself at the imperial court. People admired her beauty and intelligence. The marriage was not happy. The duchess separated from her husband.
Obsessed with the Greek struggle for independence, she arrived in Nafplio in 1830. She became an ardent financial supporter of public education. Later, she became an opponent of Kapodistrias. When Kapodistrias was assassinated, the Duchess returned to Greece in 1834. She settled in Athens.
Athens was a town of some 7000 souls. Its population soon doubled. The Duchess of Plaisance was among the new expats. Shortly after moving to Athens, tragedy struck. Her daughter Eliza died of pneumonia in Beirut. The Duchess had her daughter’s body embalmed. It was returned to Athens and placed in a crypt.
She purchased large amounts of agricultural land. It was chiefly near Mt. Penteli. She settled permanently in Athens in 1837. The presence of the Duchess was an extraordinary event for Athenian society. She had a fascinating past and a formidable fortune. She also had a singular lifestyle and strange views.
The Duchess hosted symposia on religion and politics in her palace. She was known to dole out funds and titles of courtesy. The Duchess rejected Greek Orthodoxy. She converted to Judaism. She funded the building of a synagogue in Halkida.
The Duchess commissioned the architect Stamatis Kleanthis to construct six buildings. These were in Athens and its environs. They included Castello Rhododaphni on Penteli and the Villa Ilissia. Kleanthis completed the Tower of the Duchess of Plaisance in 1841. He then worked on Villa Ilissia which was completed in 1848. Today Villa Illisia is the site of the Byzantine Museum.
Later in life, she commissioned Kleanthis to build a final home for her daughter’s remains. This was the Castle of Rododafni. She never saw it completed. In 1847, it burned to the ground. The Duchess withdrew from public life. She only saw her old friend, Fotini Mavromichali.
She died in 1854. Her nephew sold her lands to the Greek state. She is buried with her daughter in her Tower near Penteli. Today, an Athens metro station is named Doukissis Plakentias. It is built on her original lands.
Standing before the Tomb of the Duchess of Plaisance, we remember a woman ahead of her time. She was a patron of the arts and a figure of controversy. Her legacy remains etched in the landscape of Athens. Her impact is still felt today.