Versace Mansion - The Villa Casa Casuarina, Miami

The Villa Casa Casuarina, also known as Versace Mansion, for being the former home of the late Italian designer Gianni Versace. The mansion was originally built in 1930 by architect and philanthropist Alden Freeman. When visiting Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, he saw the Alcazar De Colon, the first fortified Spanish palace, built by Diego Columbus (Christopher Columbus’s Son) during the early 16th century. Freeman was impressed by the beauty of Alcazar De Colon, and he built his private mansion modeled after Alcazar De Colon.

Villa Casa Casuarina was later purchased by the Italian clothes designer Gianni Versace, hence the new name. Tragically, Gianni Versace was murdered in front of the building in 1997.

According to the legend, the name of the mansion came from the last tree that remains on the lot where the mansion was built, after a hurricane that hit Miami in 1926. It was the only tree remaining, while all other trees were uprooted by the hurricane. The name of the tree was the Casuarina Equisetifolia, which is more commonly known as the Australian Pine Tree.