It was built in 1924 for the Lloyd R. Smith family - an Italian Renaissance-style home on a bluff above Lake Michigan.

The architecture and water stairs were inspired by Villa Cicogna Mozzoni (built in the 1560s) in Lombardy, Italy.

In 1966 the Smith family donated their home to Milwaukee County to serve as a Decorative Arts Museum.

[4] In 1976, a formal planting of sugar maple bosques with privet hedges and white gravel was installed.

Based on the master plan created by Buettner & Associates,[6] volunteers with the Renaissance Garden Club began two years of site clearing in the spring of 1998.

The Italian villa, picturesque garden, unique stairways and breath-taking views of Lake Michigan provide scenery that would otherwise only be attainable by traveling to Europe.