Miami: Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

(Updated February 11, 2019) If you’re going to Miami, take a half day to visit the nearby Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. Read my article for Travel Thru History to learn about the home, gardens, and eccentric owner. Built to copy the architecture and art of Italian Renaissance, Vizcaya was a winter home of James Deering, heir to the International Harvester Fortune. He spared no expense and furnished Vizcaya with Italian antiques and artwork…yet he used the residence just a few months a year!

America’s “Gilded Age” built many mansions and extravagant settings that are now open to the public.The best known Gilded Age mansion is Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Built by the tycoons in steel, railroad, finance, and commerce, the enormous homes were often referred to as “cottages” by their owners.

You may be surprised what wealthy people in your area of the country constructed. Here’s a state-by-state list.

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens will give you a glimpse into the life of the rich during the “Great Gatsby” era. Don’t pass up the chance to see it.