A mansion that dates back to its construction in 1930 and has maintained incredible and varied uses throughout its history ranging from a trophy house to a boutique hotel, not to mention that it nearly became part of Donald Trump’s estate portfolio. The building is known as the Gianni Versace house in Miami Beach and is an integral part of the history books.
Built by the heir to the vast Standard Oil fortune, Alden Freeman, and maintains an architecture based on the 1510 mansion built by the son of the legendary naval explorer Christopher Columbus. The Florida mansion has also managed to maintain a profuse performance in various movies and TV series, such as American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace and a turbulent history behind him.
One of the most photographed houses in the U.S.
The mansion was auctioned in 2013 and was acquired for 41.5 million dollars, exceeding the amount offered by former President Donald Trump, thus increasing its fame and ability to revalue as time goes by. In addition, it was an important part of the history of the famous fashion designer Gianni Versace, a condition that has ensured that the house does not lose its appeal and that day by day increases its attractiveness to tourists.
The history is as old as the mansion’s structure, achieving qualifiers such as Casa Casuarina, located at 1116 Ocean Dr, in Miami Beach, Florida. The property has had other names, such as “The Palace of Amsterdam” becoming an apartment building with 30 units, becoming widely attractive to many artists of local origin thanks to its design described as unique.
Miami Beach mansion remodeled by Gianni Versace himself
The story goes that Gianni Versace was in Florida while on his way to Cuba when he asked the cab driver to show him something elegant and fun in the city of Miami; the cab driver took him to the South Beach area, and it was there that he first saw the eccentric apartment building and it was love at first sight.
Gianni Versace finally bought the property in 1992 with an investment of 32 million dollars, achieving the magic of converting a pile of dilapidated apartments into a true jewel of art and in addition to that, transforming the mansion into his home by living in it from 1992 until he died in 1997.
An extensive remodeling of the entire property through which the designer managed to convert the 24 apartments into a dozen suite-like spaces took him about three years to achieve. In the modifications, Gianni Versace incorporated a 566-square-meter wing into the construction of the new as well as a mosaic pool inspired by his collection called “Marine Vanuras,” composed of more than one million mosaics with real 24 K gold and that maintains a length of 54 feet.
A tragic end for Versace at his Florida home
In a fateful twist of fate, the fashion designer was murdered on the mansion’s front steps, evidencing a course full of problems for the house after the artist’s death. His sister Donatella Versace disposed of the property just three years after Gianni Versace’s assassination, and from there, it has changed hands several times, eventually being converted into a hotel.