A Little Piece of Northern Italy on Lake Michigan

My favorite of the 3 museums in historic Milwaukee homes that we visited was the Villa Terrace.

You can visit the museum Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. and admission is $5 for adults.  Well worth the price, in my opinion.

Hermes, messenger of the gods

Built in 1923 by architect David Adler it was designed to resemble an Italian Renaissance Villa.  The exterior is white washed pink brick with limestone trim that were carved and quarried in Italy.

The pebbles used in the garden walkway were supposedly gathered by the grandchildren of the owner from the Lake Michigan beach.  I'm glad that not all the building material was imported!

Tuscan columns and a brick walkway lead you to the front door.  Once inside you'll see that the main floor is devoted to use for events.  The views from the windows on both floors of the lake are magnificent.  Imagine this view almost a hundred years ago!  How much has changed, I wonder?

The Renaissance Garden behind the home we left unexplored and it looks like it might be worthy of another visit in early summer when everything is in bloom.

red Italian barrel tiles on roof

An unsupported circular iron stairway leads from the first floor to the second floor where we got to view the art galleries.  We had a delightful surprise in store for us that ended up being my favorite part of our get-away!