Everyone remembers that fateful event on July 15, 1997 in Miami. Gianni Versace was shot twice in the head outside his South Beach home. The entrance steps of Casa Casuarina thus became a place of worship for the designer’s fans.
The history of Casa Casuarina is long and curious. Until it came into the hands of Gianni Versace in 1992, the property went through different owners and several renovations. Although it was the Italian designer who invested the most in the redesign of this Mediterranean-style villa.
Casa Casuarina has always had boyfriends and girlfriends, due to its excellent location in Miami Beach. The luxury villa is located at 1116 Ocean Drive in South Beach. This is the famous Art Deco neighborhood of Miami, where art and architecture coexist with the curiosities of the area.
The history of Casa Casuarina
It was in 1930 when the architect and heir Adlen Freeman built the mansion. His inspiration was the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Hence its Mediterranean essence. The reason why Freeman decided to call the house Casa Casuarina has not been clarified. There are those who attribute it to a personal matter and others say that it was inspired by his favorite book.
At that time, the house consisted of a total of 24 rooms or apartments. The owner and his partner lived in one of them. In the rest of the rooms, those who were willing to pay rent were accommodated.
When Adlen Freeman died, the house was left without an owner, but it soon found a new owner. Jacque Amsterdam paid $100,000 for the villa. Amsterdam Palace is the name that the house would receive at this time. The remodel was simple, although a few more rooms were added to the design of the home.
The passage of time seemed not to play in favor of the old Casa Casuarina, but Gianni Versace knew how to rescue it and restore all its splendor. The designer took over the mansion in 1992, after bumping into it by chance on a trip to Miami. In addition to the house, he also bought the adjoining building, the Revere Hotel. Versace invested $3 million in the villa and $4 million to purchase the hotel.
The Casa Casuarina remodeling process was long. In fact, it lasted until 1997, when the designer lost his life at its doors.
After the reforms, Gianni Versace endowed the mansion with exuberance. In total the house has 10 rooms, decorated in the purest Versace style. Gold details, art and vibrant colors are not lacking in any of its spaces. In addition, the gardens and the mosaics of its swimming pool became the design standards of an era.
When Versace died, it was his niece, Allegra Beck, who inherited the property. But it seems that the designer’s family had no intention of keeping Casa Casuarina within the family. So he sold the villa for $19 million to Peter Loftin, who turned it into a luxury, private club.
From then on, Casa Casuarina has passed through different hands and has hosted a wide variety of businesses, but without any success. Now it returns in all its splendor in the form of a luxury hotel.
The Villa Casa Casuarina hotel houses the most influential personalities in the world in its rooms. A night in one of its suites costs between 900 and 1,200 dollars. In addition, guests can enjoy the best gastronomy at Gianni’s restaurant, in honor of the designer. The owners of the hotel have returned to provide the house with all the essence that Versace gave off.
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