The early 20th-century Vizcaya estate also includes extensive Italian Renaissance gardens, native woodland landscape, and a historic village outbuildings compound.

The estate property originally consisted of 180 acres (73 ha) of shoreline mangrove wetlands and dense inland native tropical forests.

Deering began construction of Vizcaya in 1912, officially beginning occupancy on Christmas Day 1916, when he arrived aboard his yacht Nepenthe.

[9][10] The villa was built primarily between 1914 and 1922, at a cost of $15 million,[11] while the construction of the extensive elaborate Italian Renaissance gardens and village continued into 1923.

Chalfin recommended the architect F. Burrall Hoffman[14] to design the structure and facade of the villa, garden pavilions, and estate outbuildings.

In 1914, during a visit to Villa La Pietra in Florence, Deering and Chalfin met[15] Colombian landscape designer Diego Suarez.

To achieve the aged look Deering desired, they incorporated, mature trees, vines, draping plants, coral stone sculptures, and antiques.

Deering died in September 1925, on board the steamship SS City of Paris en route back to the United States.

Over the decades, after hurricanes and increasing maintenance costs, they began selling the estate's surrounding land parcels and outer gardens.

In 1945, they sold significant portions of the Vizcaya property to the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida, to build Miami's Mercy Hospital.

On March 22, 1971, three individuals from New York City stole approximately $1.5 million in artworks and silver items from the Villa Vizcaya, some of which were of historical value.

[28] Sergeant Tom Connolly from the New York City Police Department raided the Manhattan apartment of Vojislav Stanimirović and his wife, Branka, and arrested them.

"Miami-Dade in 2017 entered into a long-term operating and management agreement with Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Trust Inc., a local nonprofit.

Plans include restoration of the villa and gardens, and adaptation of the historic village compound for exhibition and educational facilities; however, additional funds are required for this.

The completed first phase of the project included rebuilding of the museum's cafe and shop (in historic recreation areas of the building adjacent to the pool), renovation of the North and South Gate Lodges that flank South Miami Avenue, and rebuilding of the David A. Klein Orchidarium in a plan that generally uses historic precedent.

The pool is only one of two public places in the world to feature a surviving mural by Robert Winthrop Chanler, a prominent American artist.

The State of Florida and the Division of Emergency Management's Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program provided Vizcaya with a grant of $194,000 to help prevent future damage to the historic estate.

[36] As noted by the National Trust's website, Vizcaya's inclusion on this list was based on the threat of proposed highrise development on neighboring property.

Specifically, the National Trust stated: "Unless development is blocked or an intervention occurs, this cultural landscape will be permanently damaged by the construction of three high-rise condominium towers within Vizcaya's historic viewshed.

Vizcaya participates in Baynanza, Biscayne Bay Cleanup Day, an annual community event to clean up the most important ecological system in South Florida.

Many are surprised to learn that it was built largely of reinforced concrete, with the latest technology of the period, such as generators and a water filtration system.

Vizcaya was also equipped with heating and ventilation, two elevators, a dumbwaiter, a central vacuum-cleaning system and a partly automated laundry room.

External pictures of Vizcaya can be seen in the films Tony Rome, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,[42][43] Any Given Sunday,[44] Bad Boys II, Airport '77, Haunts of the Very Rich, The Money Pit, The Champ, This Thing is Ours, Dostana,[45] Daring Game[46] and Iron Man 3.