Historic Italian Villa Cornaro Is On the Market for $45 Million

In the complete opposite direction of budget living, renowned architect Andrea Palladio’s Villa Cornaro is officially on the market. Designated as “one of the most influential buildings in the world” by the New York Times, the sprawling Italian home is the stuff of real estate dreams. In 1551, the villa was designed and ultimately named for Giorgio Cornaro, a member of Italian society’s upper echelon.

The 16th century estate currently belongs to Carl and Sally Gable, a couple from Atlanta who paid $2 million when they acquired the property in 1989. Recently, they listed their historic residence on Venice Sotheby’s International Realty for around $45 million. The massive home boasts 24-foot ceilings along with a number of refurbishments such as a restored fish pond, a new roof as well as a restored portion of what is arguably the home’s most famous feature – a pillared double porch which served as design inspiration for Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.

In addition to its majestic design, the future owners of Villa Cornaro will also gain an extensive collection of classic artwork, including six eight-foot tall statues of the Cornaro family and more than 100 frescoes that portray scenes from the Old and New Testaments.

Although this basically sounds like living in a museum full-time, Mrs. Gable made sure to incorporate modern decorative touches to give the villa more of a homey feel.

“We always insisted that Villa Cornaro is our home, not a museum. So we haven’t been afraid to bring comfortable chairs and modern lighting into a building that is now more than 460 years old,” she told the Times in an email.

The current occupants hope the future owners would be appreciative of “the opportunity to enjoy as a private residence one of the great historic houses and art treasures of the world.”

Check out more photos over at the New York Times.

h/t Curbed