Vizcaya: A Classical Home a Stone’s Throw From Miami

Vizcaya’s 54-room mansion opens up to lavish tropical gardens and views of Biscayne Bay from the dock. The property was designed as an indoor-outdoor pavilion with a courtyard plan defined by two axes: east–west and north–south. A lush forest shields the home from the sights and sounds of modern Miami. (Robin Hill/Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)

The modern skyline of Miami is less than three miles away, yet its contrast with the classical beauty of Vizcaya could not be greater. This classical home was built between 1914 and 1922 for industrialist James Deering (1859–1925) on the shores of Biscayne Bay. Deering chose Francis Burrall Hoffman, Jr., who had attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, to plan the overall architecture.

The 45,225-square-foot home (almost 10 times the size of a professional basketball court) incorporates Deering’s design ideas and elements that he acquired in Europe, especially from the 18th-century country estates in the Veneto region of northern Italy.

Although the rococo style predominates, Vizcaya presents a range of décor styles that originated in Europe. Derived from the French word “rocaille,” meaning rock and shell garden embellishment, rococo style primarily emphasizes pastel color patterns based on flowers, vines, and shells. Every corner of Vizcaya displays the creative and dramatic craftsmanship and collected art of rococo-focused rooms.

Named for both the Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548–1624) and Biscayne Bay, Vizcaya today sits on an existing 30 acres of the original 180 acres of land. The site offers a lush oasis to its house, garden, and museum, away from the fast-paced daytime and nightlife of one of Florida’s largest metropolitan cities.

Vizcaya’s exterior presents an 18th-century Italian villa façade in the Veneto style, with white stucco covering the limestone construction, under a terracotta barrel-shaped tile roof. Corner towers feature low-pitched hipped roofs covered in the same barrel-shaped tiles. Three arched center-point windows and a columned second-floor balcony overlook the formal gardens. The gardens, designed by landscape architect Diego Suarez (1888–1974), are characterized by flanking rows of manicured oaks, geometric-shaped hedges, reflecting pools, statuary, and topiary. (Robin Hill/Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)

The courtyard, with its symmetrical marble columns bolstering a centerpiece arch, was created to serve as a courtyard garden. The statuary sits on a coral limestone floor, which was quarried on-site during the estate’s construction. Although the space was originally open, a glass canopy was installed in 1983 and upgraded in 2012 to preserve the items on display. (Robin Hill/Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)

Craftsmanship and design adorn every square inch of space of the loggia (a covered exterior entrance), from the floor, to the walls made of ornamental wood and plaster, to the ceiling. The floor is inlaid with varicolored marble and terrazzo. The ceiling moldings are Wedgewood-inspired. Around the walls is a 15-panel canvas installation from the 18th century that depicts the conquest of Troy. The circa 17th-century gate was originally at the home of a diplomat in Venice, Italy. (Robin Hill/Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)

The main dining room on the first floor conveys medieval and Renaissance aesthetics. The walls are covered with original 16th-century Belgium tapestries, with a main rectangular tapestry featuring the Roman god Mercury, and images of merchants, travelers, and transporters of goods. The ceiling is carved and stained wood and is set off by a late 17th-century wall-hung valance of velvet with embroidery in silver and gold metallic bullion threads with compatible bullion fringe. The window wall features four acanthus leaf-topped marble Corinthian columns that carry upright chandeliers featuring orange tree designs. (Robin Hill/Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)  

The master bedroom has an Italian neoclassical gilt, bronze-mounted bed with a tasseled canopy backdrop. The walls are painted in rococo green; the plaster ceiling has a raised design in gold on cream/white with a ceiling border displaying gold and green framed segments of repeating motifs. Raised plaster designs complementing ceiling moldings are repeated around doors and windows and feature rosettes and stars. The floor is wood parquet in a herringbone pattern. (Robin Hill/Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)

The second-floor breakfast room features an oval table that mirrors the inlaid, intricate marble floor design. Paintings on the walls by French artist Adrien Manglard (1695–1760) are divided into 11 panels showcasing a series of Italian harbor scenes. The rococo ornamental gate leads to the courtyard. When Vizcaya was built, the curated gates were retrofitted to fit their selected openings. (Robin Hill/Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)

The master bath sports a fabric ceiling canopy from which a painted lighting fixture is hung. A mottled gray marble bathtub is set against a white marble wall with silver urn, harp, and vase relief sculptures. The flooring design includes a Greek motif of acanthus leaf, which symbolizes enduring life. Silver light fixtures of neoclassical design grace the side walls. (Robin Hill/Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)

Vizcaya’s 10-acre formal gardens are accented by parterres, which are ornamental arrangements of flower beds, made in geometric and curved designs. The formal Italian garden features the design principles of symmetry and lush greenery. Included in the gardens are 100-year-old oak trees, which are regularly trimmed to give the illusion of a hedge when viewed from the air. (Robin Hill/Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)

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