Everglades

Villa Viscaya (now Viscaya Museum and Gardens) in Coconut Grove was once owned by businessman James Deering. It is a beautiful architectural and landscape complex that also includes extensive Italian Renaissance style gardens, original woodland landscaping, and historic buildings. The architecture of the villa was inspired, as was the design of the gardens, by the Italian regions of Veneto and Tuscany and is designed in a Mediterranean-Renaissance style with Baroque elements. The designer responsible for the project was Paul Chalfin.

The villa is now owned by Miami-Dade County and is open to the public.

The original site on which the villa stands was 730,000 square feet of shoreline and mangrove swamps and pristine rainforest. Dearing was an activist who cared about nature and specifically chose this site to preserve its natural beauty. The villa was built between 1914 and 1922, with work on the Italian gardens lasting a year longer.
Inside, however, you can see more than 70 rooms with beautiful original interiors decorated with numerous antiques.

After the death of Dearing in 1925, his winter residence was partially used by his nephews, but then the land was sold to the Catholic parish of St. Augustine for the construction of the Hospital of Mercy of Miami. Only 200,000 square feet remained with the mansion and garden, which was purchased by the county in 1952. The estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994 and a museum was established here in 1998.

The aesthetics of the villa and its surroundings are notable for the way in which Mediterranean traditions and European stylistics have been adapted here to the subtropical realities of South Florida. So, for example, in Tuscany or the Ile de France, of course, you will not find palm trees and philodendrons, but here they look quite harmonious – as well as Cuban limestone, of which the buildings on the territory are built. Because of its location on the coast, the beautiful villa has been hit by hurricanes many times (the most recent were in 1992 and 2005), but each time it has been restored by the county.

The façade of the mansion is strongly reminiscent of the Villa Rezzonico by Balthasar Longerna in Bassano del Grappa, in Veneto. Sometimes it is called the Castle of Hearst East. Inside you can see more than 70 rooms, where you can see the beautiful original interiors, decorated with numerous objects of antiquity, mainly masterpieces of European decorative art of the 15-19 centuries, as well as the furnishings.
The name of the villa is related to the name of the North Spanish Basque province, which is located on the shore of the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic.

In 1887, President Reagan received Pope John Paul II at Villa Vizcaya during his visit to Miami. The villa has also been featured in a number of movies, including the films about Ace Ventura and Iron Man. It is an extremely popular destination for weddings and quinceañera celebrations.
Quinceañera is a Latin American holiday celebrated when a young girl turns 15.

The address is 3251 South Miami avenue.

The easiest way to get to the villa is via Miami Metro Rail (Vizcaya station).

Open daily except Tuesday from 9:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Admission: 20 USD.