Donatella Versace drops $5.6 million on historic villa in northern Italy
Villa Mondadori, an Italian mansion whose guest list over the years includes Ernest Hemingway and Walt Disney, has a new high-profile owner: Donatella Versace.
The designer and chief creative officer of her family’s luxury fashion company, Versace, paid roughly 5 million euros, according to the listing agency. That equals about $5.6 million.
Named after publishing magnate and former owner Arnoldo Mondadori, the historic estate overlooks Lake Maggiore in Meina, a small town outside Milan in northern Italy.
The home, clad in pink stucco, spans four stories with 50 rooms in more than 15,000 square feet. There are 20 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, as well as a library with paneled walls and a formal living room with dark hardwood accents.
One room features a fireplace mantel signed by guests including Ernest Hemingway, Belgian novelist Georges Simenon, German Nobel Prize laureate Thomas Mann and Italian writers Giuseppe Antonio Borgese and Valentino Bompiani.
Trees dot the lakefront grounds, which hold a garden and swimming pool.
Versace, 64, is the sister of late fashion designer Gianni Versace, who founded the fashion house in 1978. She helped design Palazzo Versace resorts in Australia and Dubai and also boasts advertising campaign collaborations with Jennifer Lopez, Madonna and Beyoncé.
