A $20 million mansion in South Florida fit for Versace

A 4,290-square-foot estate fronting Biscayne Bay boasts a unique feature: It was designed by the same man who helped to create many of Gianni Versace’s boutiques and homes around the world.

The asking price for its European elegance: $19.9 million.

Lorenzo Carmellini, of Milan, Italy, is behind the property. He worked for Versace with his late partner, architect Rocco Magnoli.

“Carmellini did a lot of collaborations with Versace, including his Miami Beach property many years ago,” said Allan Kleer, a real estate agent with ONE Sotheby’s International Realty in Miami Beach, who holds the listing with colleague Fabian Garcia-Diaz.

Kleer said homeowners in South Florida are increasingly using European designers rather than locals. “There is a prestige attached to them,” he said. “I have clients who have even brought architects and designers from Turkey because of the name recognition. It helps to differentiate in the luxury market.”

The two-story gated mansion, on a double lot at 921 N. Venetian Drive in Miami, has a total of five bedrooms and six baths.

Features include Carrara marble floors, a gourmet kitchen, a formal dining room and coffered ceilings. The ceiling in the great room was handcarved, a project that involved six artisans and took two years. There is a separate guest suite above the two-car garage.

Outside, there’s a summer kitchen, an oversized swimming pool crafted from Fontini mosaic tiles imported from Italy, and 175 linear feet of frontage on Biscayne Bay. The home offers unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline.

“This is a European masterpiece,” Kleer said. “It took six years to complete.”

The property is on Biscayne Island, one of the six man-made Venetian Islands that straddle Biscayne Bay between Miami and Miami Beach. Biscayne Island is the closest to Miami.

The current owner, a Texas pharmacy-software entrepreneur, used the property as a vacation home, Kleer said.

He’s selling because he now owns another property in the Caribbean and is spending time there.

ONE SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL/COURTESY PHOTOS The 4,290-square-foot estate was designed by Lorenzo Carmellini, who, with his late partner, created many of Gianni Versace’s boutiques and homes around the world. The asking price for its European elegance: $19.9 million.

Outside the house, there’s a summer kitchen, an oversized swimming pool and 175 linear feet of frontage on Biscayne Bay. The home offers unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline.