Villa Astor

William Waldorf Astor: American Tycoon to English Lord

Lecture
Online
July 7, 2023 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET
Free
Curt DiCamillo

The Villa Astor is a stunning feat of Italian architecture—perched on the Bay of Naples with views of Mount Vesuvius, it has a long and storied history with roots dating back to the Roman Empire. In the early 20th century, an eccentric American made his own mark on the history of this great Italian home—William Waldorf Astor, founder of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, richest man in the world at the time, and a passionate admirer of art and beauty. Astor purchased the villa in 1905 and spent a decade meticulously and lovingly restoring the home and its gardens into a bastion of exquisite art and architecture. Join Curt DiCamillo as he gives an inside look at the fascinating story of this restoration, which serves as the subject of his 2017 book, Villa Astor: Paradise Restored on the Amalfi Coast.

Curt DiCamillo
Decorative Arts
Historic Houses
England
Curt DiCamillo, who joined American Ancestors/NEHGS in February of 2016 as the organization’s first Curator of Special Collections, is an internationally recognized authority on British historic houses and the decorative arts.