In Italy, Art Nouveau was known as Liberty. In Palermo, the style became closely tied to the city’s Belle Époque villa culture, and Villa Virginia remains a surviving example of that period through its architecture, decorative arts, and early-20th-century details.

Founded 101 years ago by Baltimore industrial wealth, transformed by Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr. into a Thoroughbred racing and breeding dynasty, and later restored by Under Armour founder Kevin Plank, who reportedly invested more than $22 million in the land and facilities, the 524-acre estate sits at the heart of Maryland horse country.

Set within The Peaks at Luštica Bay, the four-bedroom villa has terraces facing the entrance to the Bay of Kotor and the fairways of a Gary Player-designed course.

Considered one of southern England’s finest private country houses, the Grade II-listed Pythouse sits in South Wiltshire’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Set at the foot of Callian in the Var, Provence the former olive mill sits on 4 hectares / 9.9 acres with 7 bedrooms, 2 guest houses, vaulted stone cellars, a swimming pool, and a spring-fed pond.

Listed with Denniel Immobilier and published exclusively on Francis York, the 109-acre estate carries centuries of aristocratic, architectural, and motoring history.

As Lake Como prepares for Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and FuoriConcorso, this 6-bedroom residence comes to market ahead of one of Europe’s most visible collector-car weekends, drawing patrons, design-world figures, and international visitors to Cernobbio and the surrounding villas.

For buyers looking beyond the region’s more familiar country-house markets, this Essonne property makes a clear case for the quieter side of Île-de-France. Less than an hour south of Paris, it pairs a renovated five-bedroom house with an indoor swimming pool, and just over eight acres of leafy grounds.

Set behind gates, the five-bedroom house is a largely intact example of a 1920s Spanish Revival villa in Los Feliz, just below Griffith Park, one of Los Angeles’ most architecturally intact neighbourhoods.