TRAVEL GUIDE

Wisconsin Travel and Villa Terrace Decorative Museum

An Italian Renaissance-style villa lies hidden in the hills of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Designed and built by architect David Alder in 1923, this gorgeous home features one of the state's finest collections of decorative arts and wrought-iron masterpieces. Originally the residence of Lloyd Smith, the Villa Terrace is now open to Wisconsin travel planner and tourists as a beautiful decorative arts museum. From the whitewashed warm-pink brick walls to the meticulously maintained Renaissance Gardens, the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Garden provides visitors with an awe-inspiring look at Wisconsin's architectural past.

Balancing symmetry with sophistication: The architecture behind the Villa Terrace

Symmetry is a major part of the architecture behind the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum. Customers of Mayfair Milwaukee Car Rentals will notice this amazing use of balance from the minute they walk through the Villa's walled garden entrance. Simple Tuscan columns support a vaulted loggia or veranda, and Italian grilled windows create an intricate, yet equal pattern throughout the Villa's exterior. Beautiful patterned bricks also decorate the grounds around the villa, leading Wisconsin travel planners and tourists into the Villa's beautiful garden area.

The Renaissance remains at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum

Wisconsin travel planners and tourists are invited to enjoy these pleasures inside the Renaissance Garden at the Villa Terrace:

• A dramatic and soothing water stairway: This classic Scaletta d'Aqua flows down three terraces, past flowering crabapple trees, finishing up in a traditional Vasca (a fishpond).
• Two secret gardens: Customers of Mayfair Milwaukee Car Rentals are challenged to try and uncover these two hidden treasures. These two secret gardens were originally used, along with a thicket, as a place to catch pheasants and other birds.
• Grassy spaces and benches: Wisconsin travel planners and tourists are invited to sit and relax under a handful of shade trees at the Villa Terrace Decorative Museum. Grassy spaces and benches are bordered by culinary and medicinal herbs, potted citrus trees and dwarf fruit trees.
• The monumental "Neptune" Gate: Inspired by master craftsman Cyril Colnik, this beautiful wrought-iron gate is the perfect place for photos at the Villa Terrance Decorative Arts Museum.

Enjoy a walk through the Italian countryside

Customers of Mayfair Milwaukee Car Rentals are invited to take part in a guided or self-guided tour of the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum and Renaissance Garden. Tours of the compound often highlight pieces from the museum's Permanent Art Collection, as well as changing exhibitions, areas of the Renaissance Garden and history of the houses architecture. Tours of the museum and garden are offered Monday through Sunday (pending availability). Tours generally last for 45 to 60 minutes. Wisconsin travel planners and tourists are encouraged to contact the museum in advance in order to have a tour tailored to your needs and interests. For more tour information, please contact the Villa Terrace Tours Coordinator, Anna Opgenorth, by phone at 271-3546 ext. 16.

Antique art and furnishings: The collections at Villa Terrace

The Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum includes an extensive collection of furnishings and artworks from the 15th through the 18th centuries. Permanent collections located inside the house include the Colnik Collection, the Great Hall Collection, the Zuber Gallery and the English Gallery.

Now visiting Italy is as easy as visiting Milwaukee! If you would like to learn more about the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum before embarking on your upcoming Mayfair vacation, please feel free to visit the institutions website at www.cavtmuseums.org/vt/. Admission to the museum is just $5 for adults; $3 for seniors, military personal and students; and free for Museum Members or children under the age of twelve. Wisconsin travel planners and tourists will find the Villa Terrace Decorative Museum at 2220 North Terrace Avenue. Villa Terrace is part of the Milwaukee County War Memorial complex and a partner of the Charles Allis Art Museum. Mayfair Milwaukee Car Rental customers are encouraged to visit the Villa Terrace Museum Wednesday through Sunday, 1pm to 5pm.