La Villa Contenta, Malibu, California

Favorite

Offered at $75,000,000

La Villa Contenta, a monument to Old World opulence, glorifies nearly eight blufftop acres of Pacific Ocean splendor in Malibu. Crowning a gated Arcadia of secret gardens, the majestic villa, considered one of the grandest in the world, opens to a soaring limestone entry and foyer with ancient lion’s head sculpture from the base of Mount Vesuvius. Off the celestial double living room, a loggia and outdoor living room immortalize the oceanfront. The dining room, adorned with a hand-carved limestone ceiling, features crystal-and-amethyst 18th-century chandeliers; the library, a Gothic ceiling and Hermès marble fireplace. With a stone fireplace, seating counters, 18th-century floors, and adjoining dining solarium, the chef’s kitchen epitomizes heartwarming rusticity. Accessed by two staircases and an elevator, the lower level houses a wine cellar, screening room, gym, and English-pine billiards room with rare Cates-inspired paintings and a wet bar. The magnificent master suite, sequestered beyond three other bedrooms on the upper level, is one of the highlights of the entire villa with its regal fireplace, resplendent baths, and private terrace overlooking the Pacific. Sublime gardens bestow an infinity pool, tennis court, guest suite hidden in a fern grove, gigantic orchid greenhouse, and guesthouse with walls of green Venetian marble and Baccarat and Murano chandeliers. But it is the glass-crowned pool pavilion that steals your heart—a baroque fantasy world introduced by a million seashells that eloquently expresses the artistic genius that permeates all of La Villa Contenta.

Estate Gallery