Villa d'Este (Johannesburg) is a National Heritage site in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

, recognized by the

South African Heritage Resource Agency The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) is the national administrative body responsible for the protection of South Africa's cultural heritage. It was established through the ''National Heritage Resources Act, number 25 of 1999'' and ...

, and on the List of heritage sites in Gauteng. It is located at 82 Jan Smuts Avenue in

Saxonwold Saxonwold is an affluent suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is situated in what was once the Sachsenwald Forest in the early 20th century. It is located in Region E of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. History The suburb ...

History

The house was designed by architect

Gordon Leith George Esslemont Gordon Leith (1885–1965) was a South African architect. Career He started his career working for Herbert Baker. Leith served as a captain in the Royal Field Artillery (and was later recovering from a Western Front gas attac ...

in 1923, as a house in Spanish style for the epidemiologist A. J. Orenstein. It was purchased in 1957 by English architect David Morrison (1910–2000), who then spent many years changing the house to a

pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...

of an Italian villa with its

formal gardens Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise. ...

, which reminded the architect of the

Villa d'Este The Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and especially for its profusion of fountains. It is now an Italian state museum, and is listed as a UNESCO World Herita ...

at Tivoli near

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. It has a main pool at the front which is a swimming pool, statues and fountains, and a

Jacuzzi Jacuzzi Brands LLC (; ), through its subsidiaries, is a global manufacturer and distributor of branded baths, hot tubs, pools, saunas and, formerly, aircraft. Founded in 1915 by the Italian family of the same name, Jacuzzi is a federally regist ...

and

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

. David Morrison lived in the house until 1993, when it was purchased by an interior designer who had the gardens renovated and replanted with junipers and cypresses.''Looking North'' magazine, Johannesburg, South Africa, 12 October 1994. p.12, article by Kay Montgomery From 2013–2016 it was used as business premises for a health spa.

References

External links

Camelot Spa at Villa d'Este

Artefacts: Villa d'Este

Artefacts.co.za Johannesburg - Gauteng
House A. J. Orenstein, Villa d'Este {{coord missing, South Africa Buildings and structures in Johannesburg Houses completed in 1923 20th-century architecture in South Africa