A Venetian Palazzo in Miami Beach With a Giant Chessboard on the Roof

Architects sometimes make enormous efforts to build houses that disappear into the landscape or conceal themselves behind towering walls. Miami’s Villa Rosa is having none of that. While purposefully placed and carefully groomed trees and plantings tame some of its grandiose Gothic drama, and it is, of course, fortified with gates and a comprehensive security system, the elaborately detailed pale pink residence stands tall on its corner parcel in Coconut Grove, making a bold statement alongside its equally luxe if more unassuming neighbors. 

Tax records and other resources show that the land was purchased in late 2000 for $750,000 by a local attorney and his wife, who, as fans of Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner, built Villa Rosa to their flamboyant specifications. The couple sold the Venetian-inspired Palazzo in 2016 for a smidgen less than $6 million to a firm connected to the recently deceased Texas businessman William “Bill” Hutchinson, who held onto the place until 2021, when it last changed hands for $10 million. It has since had substantial updates, including to its landscaping and kitchen, and is newly back up for grabs at $24 million, with Lourdes Alatriste of Douglas Elliman holding the listing.

Villa Rosa’s approximately 11,800 square feet provide grandly proportioned spaces for large-scale entertaining, along with smaller spaces for a more relaxed family life. Thirty-foot groin-vaulted ceilings soar over the central great room, which is embellished with huge spiral pilasters and a bow-fronted fireplace. Black chandeliers bring the drama to the living room, which faces the water, and the dining room is jazzed up with more stained glass. The eat-in chef’s kitchen is fully up to date with elaborate stone carvings fitted into arched windows, while the nearby den’s more intimate size is perfect for snuggling up with a book or watching TV.

There are six bedrooms and five bathrooms, plus two additional powder rooms, throughout the main residence and a self-contained guest apartment atop the garage; an arched bridge connects the two structures as it spans a brick-paved driveway that leads to a rear motor court and garage. The top-floor primary suite faces the water with a fireplace, a sitting area that spills onto a slender balcony, and a spectacular bathroom that turns bathing and grooming into a ceremony.

RELATED: This Century-Old Miami Home Was Once a Filming Location for TV Series ‘Miami Vice’

RELATED: Eccentric Billionaire Howard Hughes’ Former Miami Property Lists for a Cool $55.5 Million

A courtyard driveway and several patios engulfed in tropical foliage and clipped hedges extend the living spaces to the outdoors. They are joined by a swimming pool and, down a stone staircase, a stationary pier for getting out on the water. Sprawling roof terraces include an eight-sided enclosed cupola, ideal as a home office or meditation retreat, and a four-sided open-air pavilion for dining or lounging. In between is a huge chessboard for honing skills of strategy and guile while catching a tan.

The oldest neighborhood in Miami, Coconut Grove is a sedate enclave that hugs Biscayne Bay about a dozen miles from South Beach—but up to an hour by car during peak traffic—with the iconic Vizcaya Museum and Gardens as its cultural and architectural center. Its compact downtown district includes tree-shaded sidewalks lined with chic eateries and smart boutiques. 

Click here for more photos of the Coconut Grove Palazzo.