Villa Crespi
Villa Crespi is notable for its scenic tall minaret-like tower. The interior atrium has a dazzling degree of stucco arabesque decoration.
Belmond Villa San Michele
Belmond Villa San Michele, a former monastery, now a hotel, is nestled on a hilltop surrounded by trees and terraced gardens, overlooking the city of Florence below. Dating from the 15th century its facade is attributed to Michelangelo.
Villa d’Este
The Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and especially for its profusion of fountains.
Villa Gamberaia
Villa Gamberaia is a seventeenth-century villa outside Florence. Edith Wharton attributed the preservation of the garden at the Villa Gamberaia to its "obscure fate" during the nineteenth century, when more prominent gardens with richer owners, in more continuous attendance, had their historic features improved clean away. During World War II, the villa was almost completely destroyed. It was restored it after the war, using old prints, maps and photographs for guidance.
Villa Garzoni
Villa Garzoni is a villa in Tuscany. The water garden is constructed at the foot of a series of balustraded terraces and a suite of grand symmetrical staircases connecting the lower water gardens at the base of the hill, with the house, the cascade, the teatro di verdura and other garden features above.
Villa Oliva
The building was commissioned by the Buonvisi family at the end of the 15th century and built by Matteo Civitali (1436-1501). A legend reports of a bet between a Buonvisi and the King of France Louis XIV. The Buonvisi claimed that his stable was more beautiful than any of the rooms of Versailles. The French Ambassador to the Republic of Lucca was sent by the king to visit the Buonvisi stable and verify that claim. Before the visit Buonvisi had ordered the entire stable to be covered with French gold coins showing the effigy of Louis XIV. The ambassador had to confirm the claim back to Paris and Buonvisi won his bet.
Villa La Gaeta
Situated on the prominent Gaeta peninsula, on the shore of Lake Como, the famous Liberty style villa was used in the film Casino Royale as the residence of Mr White.
Villa Noailles
Villa Noailles is an early modernist house, built by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens for art patrons Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the couple were important patrons of modern art, particularly surrealism; they supported film projects by Man Ray, Salvador Dalí, and Luis Buñuel; and commissioned paintings, photographs and sculptures by Balthus, Giacometti, Constantin Brâncuși, Miró, and Dora Maar. Villa Noailles features prominently in Man Ray's film Les Mystères du Château de Dé. In 1940 the villa was occupied by the Italian Army and turned into a hospital. From 1947 until 1970, the villa was the summer residence of Marie-Laure. She died in 1970, and the house was purchased by the city of Hyères in 1973. Charles de Noailles died in 1981. The villa is now used as an arts center and for special exhibitions.