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Freeman lived in a top-floor suite and either housed his friends or rented the 23 remaining apartments. Whether it’s the Versace name, the celebrity clientele or the Crime Story intrigue, the mansion on Ocean continues to draw people in. But it’s there, in the middle of one of the most famous streets in Miami, Florida, lined with restaurants, shops and tourists.
The True Story of the Versace Mansion
The renovations took almost 3 years to complete and in July 15, 1997, only 5 yrs after purchasing the home, Versace was killed on the front steps of the house on his usual morning walk home from News Cafe. A native New Yorker, Copeland first moved to Miami—coincidentally—just months before Versace. Copeland had a friend who lived on the third floor of the apartments thatoccupied the home back then, and he can vaguely remember the simpler appearance of the place. Donatella took over the company after her brother’s death, but her reign would be marked by ups and downs; by 2004, sales had fallen in four of the past seven years, despite price cuts and a renewed effort on products that could sell.
How to Visit the Versace Mansion in Miami Beach, Florida
The show was filmed at the mansion and gave an inside look into the house. Apparently, Gianni Versace was only in Miami to see his sister, Donatella, on a short stopover on his way to Cuba. He saw the building while walking down Ocean Drive on his layover and took a tour of the property. They were apartments at the time and Versace decided to buy it right then.
Inside Gianni Versace's Most Notable Addresses, From Miami to Milan - Architectural Digest
Inside Gianni Versace's Most Notable Addresses, From Miami to Milan.
Posted: Wed, 14 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Donatella Versace House
They also gave everyone a free glass of champagne at lunch for some reason, so that was nice. The thing is, is that they don’t really need to have amazing food because people are still going to go. And on top of that, the dragon fruit drink was also incredibly strong and I don’t remember it being that strong the previous times. You do get your alcohol content for what you pay, and one drink can make you tipsy. But, it was almost to that too strong point of just not tasting that good.
See Inside the Versace Mansion in Miami Beach - Yahoo Movies Canada
See Inside the Versace Mansion in Miami Beach.
Posted: Sat, 30 Mar 2024 13:37:06 GMT [source]
Hotel
In a tight space no bigger than a walk-in closet, a porthole window not far off the floor lets in morning sun reflected off the ocean. A curved bench seat holds cushions in neon blue velour and throw pillows the color of moonlight. From the bench, the walls of the domed room are finished first in brick. Above that begins an arched ceiling, azure blue, dotted with twinkling gold stars between vertical stripes bringing your gaze upward. It is believed that the home’s original owner, Alden Freeman, put a time capsule in the house when it was built in 1930. The item was never uncovered during Versace’s renovations of the home but it is thought to be hidden in the building’s cornerstone, which was left untouched during the remodel.
HISTORICAL ITEMS
Being a guest at the hotel allows you to see the hotel, take tours and yes, you are able to swim in the famous pool. You’ll be able to see the courtyard when you walk in, the tiled hallway leading to the pool area and then the pool area which doubles as the dining area. Their subject matter is very eclectic, ranging for portraits of Cleopatra, Mussolini, Gandhi, Lenin and John D. Rockefeller. Essentially, they portray people, places, and historical events that intrigued Alden Freeman, including many of his own personal friends, his own ancestors, and their accomplishments.
What to Wear at the Versace Mansion
Versace’s highly public death made his mansion a grim tourist attraction for several years, but Casa Casuarina’s strange story was far from over. By February 2001, Sotheby’s was preparing to auction many of Versace’s belongings; as Donatella told the Times, she had even made an effort to remove the Versace Medusa logos embedded within the house—at least, as many as she could. The property was sold to Peter Loftin, a telecom entrepreneur who, according to the Herald, began using the house to host parties for $10,000 a night, and later turned it into an invitation-only club with yearly dues of $3,600. (Loftin was already a member at Mar-a-Lago, owned by Donald Trump, who will show up again in this story soon). By 2005, the club had opened up to high-roller guests willing to spend up to $4,000 a night to stay in one of Versace’s former bedrooms. At that time, Ocean Drive was still an odd collection of small hotels, modeling agencies and senior citizen’s homes.
What still remains here from the Versace era are the richly decorated walls, floors, ceilings, and windows, as well as the pool, garden, and the entire south wing. The tour concludes in the circular observatory that lords over the mansion from the far end of the central courtyard. Sardinia, who used to franchise the local stores for Versace, recalls nights spent up there with him. There’s a common belief that Versace used the mansion to host parties and house guests—famously including the likes of Madonna, Princess Diana and Elton John. But mostly he saw this house as his tranquil respite, Sardinia says, and he escaped to the observatory most nights. Despite its grim history, the Miami Beach mansion that was once owned by Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace hasn’t lost its appeal, still drawing crowds of tourists each year.
What happened to Versace after his death?
Versace removed the elevator, replaced the fountain, reconstructed the observatory, and had plans to turn the vacant lot to the north of the property into a second garden before his death in 1997. In 1993 Versace purchased the Hotel Revere, located next door, for $3.7 million. It had also seen better days, but as it had been built in 1950, didn't have the same historic designation as his other purchase.
The Miami mansion was luxurious and filled with works of art such as Picassos but it wasn’t a museum-like space. He made it a comfortable place to live with his partner, Antonio D’Amico. Gianni Versace’s remains were cremated and returned to the Versace estate near Cernobbio, Italy. The ashes were buried in the family’s vault located at Moltrasio cemetery, not far from Lake Como. His funeral, which was held at Milan Cathedral, had over 2,000 attendees, including Sting, Giorgio Armani, Elton John, and Princess Diana. The photos of the crime scene where Gianni Versace was murdered are gruesome and tragic.
The auction earned the liveblog treatment from Curbed Miami, and the eventual winner was VM South Beach LLC, a company whose principal owners are the Nakash family—owners of Jordache. Since Versace's death -- he was shot dead on the steps of his mansion in 1997, thus the camera-wielding tourists outside -- the property has changed management a couple of times. Or perhaps the suite where Madonna used to stay when she visited Versace in the '90s and helped put the Miami Beach neighborhood of South Beach on the national scene.
However, it ended up being sold at auction in 2013 for just $41.5 million (at the time, Donald and Eric Trump were unsuccessful bidders for the property). But not only can tourists (and fans of FX's upcoming American Crime Story miniseries, which focuses on the murder) photograph the house, they can stay there overnight. Scroll down for a look inside the boutique luxury hotel known as the Villa Casa Casuarina. Now a boutique hotel called The Villa Casa Casuarina, Versace’s house retains his glamorous designs and opulent lifestyle.
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