Nosotros've trawled the globe to find the best properties on the market, from a bubble palace above the Bay of Cannes to a historic château in the Czech Republic.
Historic grandeur in Tuscany – Price on application
Yous’d take thought that whoever named this Tuscan villa, set in 31 acres nearly Bagno a Ripoli, south-east of Florence, had a quirky humour: La Tana means ‘the burrow’ in Italian – an unusual choice of moniker for a triumph of period opulence. In fact, the proper name appears to date from the house’s early on days, when it was somewhat smaller and ‘burrowed’ into the local woods.
Fifty-fifty then, information technology tin can’t take been besides humble an abode if it caught the heart of Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who bought it in 1570 for his mistress, Bianca Cappello. After Bianca’s long-suffering husband, Pietro Bonaventuri, was murdered (possibly on Francesco’due south orders), she moved to a palace in Florence (much to the chagrin of the Grand Knuckles’s wife, Joanna of Austria). After Joanna died, Francesco married his mistress in 1579 – simply for the pair to die eight years later; rumours flew that his brother, Ferdinand, had them both poisoned.
Meanwhile, Villa La Tana made its manner into the hands of another family of Tuscan aristocrats, the Ricasoli, who spearheaded a renovation programme. Kickoff, architect Giulio Foggini remodelled the firm, giving it the grand look it has now, so painter Antonio Cioci frescoed the double-height salon. Centuries after, the villa charmed Harold Acton, who praised its ‘suave’ façade and ‘superb views’. Painstakingly renovated, it is for auction through Knight Frank, price on application.
Villa La Tana is on the market through Knight Frank, price on application. Click hither for images and more than information.
Waterside living in La Paz – $xix.5 million (about £fifteen.15m)
This belongings almost La Paz, in Mexico’s Baja California Sur, was originally designed to be the ultimate embankment business firm and has remained true to that vision.
With four pools, a h2o slide, a tennis courtroom, a gym and, for evening entertainment, a domicile cinema, it feels like a giant waterside playground.
Many rooms, outdoor living areas and pavilions at this twenty-sleeping accommodation compound – dissever between a main residence, four guest villas and 7 suites – overlook the palm-fringed sand of the aptly named Bahía de los Sueños, Bay of Dreams, with the crystalline waters of the dolphin-inhabited Sea of Cortez across.
For auction for $xix.5 million (almost £15.15m) through Sotheby
’southward International Realty, click here for more than information and images.
Bragging rights in Bel Air – $500 million (about £383 1000000)
If it’s records you’re after, there’s no chirapsia The I in Bel Air. Designed by architect Paul McLean for developer Nile Niami (who used to be a film producer), this 20-bedchamber, Californian belongings is not only gigantic – the main suite alone, clocking in at five,500sq ft, is bigger than most London houses – only is as well thought to be the earth’southward near expensive, with a cool $500 million (about £383 million) toll tag.
Obviously, information technology comes with every conceivable feature, from five swimming pools to a 36-seat movie house and long views of Los Angeles.
On the market exclusively with Branden and Rayni Williams of Williams & Williams
www.thewilliamsestates.com
Wildlife spotting in Plettenberg Bay – R200 Million (£9.eight meg)
If you are after lions, leopards and rhinos, you tin can’t exercise much better than the Plettenberg Bay game reserve, which is the largest in the Western Cape – and the biggest local sanctuary for white rhinos.
With more than 3,200 acres of shrubland, grassland and forests, this vast manor also teems with hippos, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras and 101 species of birds – perfect for both 4×4 and horseback safaris.
Accommodation includes a hitting 10-sleeping accommodation safari club, 3 manager’s houses and 10 staff cottages, together with a reception building currently housing a restaurant, bar, coffee shop and children’s play area.
For sale for R200 one thousand thousand (nearly £9.8m) through Lew Geffen and Sotheby
’s International Realty,
world wide web.sothebysrealty.com
Unbridled creativity in the Bay of Cannes – Price on application
Hungarian architect Antti Lovag disliked the boxy shapes of traditional housing, which he constitute constraining, then he chose to give his buildings sinuous forms. Never is this approach more than axiomatic than at Le Palais Bulles, the Bubble Palace, which sits on the Massif de l’Esterel, in Théoule-sur-Mer, taking in magnificent views of the Bay of Cannes.
The property was originally designed for visionary entrepreneur Pierre Bernard (for whom Lovag also created nearby Maison Bernard, now open up to the public), but was later bought by another creative genius, Pierre Cardin, who called it his ‘own chip of paradise’.
This cluster of interlinked pods, broken up by pond pools, waterfalls and a 500-seat theatre, is not for anybody, not least considering the interiors are equally every bit curvy as the outside – retrieve round doors, elliptical windows and undulating staircases.
Its very originality appeals to complimentary spirits and collectors – the 10 bedrooms have been decorated past contemporary artists.
Le Palais Bulles is on the market place, price on awarding to Christie
’s International Real Manor chapter, Michaël Zingraf, click here for more information and images
Gimmicky glamour in Barcelona – €22 meg (about £19m)
Set up in the hills higher up Barcelona, this villa enjoys extraordinary views of the metropolis and the Mediterranean Sea. The edifice itself, withal, rivals the panorama for interest. Designed by architect Marc Canadell, it’s a gimmicky masterpiece of clean lines, vast spaces and a seamless catamenia betwixt within and out.
Arranged across three floors linked by a grand basalt staircase, the xvi,145sq ft interiors include a big living and dining area, a kitchen with Gaggenau appliances, v bedrooms, a domicile picture palace, a gym and an artist’south studio.
All the main rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, but the best vantage points are the outdoor living room and the infinity pool.
On the market for €22 1000000 (about £19m) through Sotheby
’due south International Realty, click here for information and images
Old-world charm in the Czech Democracy – . €26.5 million (well-nigh £22m)
With its towers, covered walkways and waterside setting, Château Žinkovy looks directly out of a fairy tale.
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Originally dating from the 12th century, but remodelled at the end of the 19th, it is the largest privately owned castle in the Czech Republic, spanning about 240,000sq ft of interiors, consummate with frescoes, statues, chapel, grand wooden staircase, panoramic balconies and ancillary accommodation. The grounds total just under 47 acres of grass, arable and wood country.
On the market for €26.5 1000000 (almost £22m) through Christie
’s International Existent Estate
’s affiliate Svoboda & William
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