Romance of Italy at Southern Highlands mansion Bellagio

It’s a bold statement to name a home after one of the most beautiful places in the world.

But Roy and Wendy Alvaro’s house Bellagio in the Southern Highlands is every bit as jaw-dropping as the luxury villas that hug the cliffs of Bellagio in Italy.

The couple spent time in the Lake Como village to soak up its design and architecture before creating their own piece of Bellagio in Bowral eight years ago.

 “As a builder, I was able to absorb the tone, atmosphere and architecture of the villas in Bellagio, paying particular attention to colour and balance,” Roy says.

“Wendy and I drew inspiration from what we saw and maintained design integrity of the original aesthetic by not altering it. We wanted to replicate Bellagio and left nothing to chance.”

Roy even built a lake beside the property to give it a Bellagio shores feel, while Wendy worked on creating a Como-style garden with elegant waterfalls and velvety lawns.   

While the home is one of the biggest in Australia, with 20 rooms spanning 1,500 square metres, Roy and Wendy find the estate comfortable and manageable.  

“We have lived here since 2008 and every day we are still mesmerised by the home,” Roy says.

“It’s a very liveable house, cosy yet offering plenty of space for everyone to enjoy.”

The six-bedroom, seven bathroom house has won a Master Builders Association award and is located in one of Bowral’s most sought-after streets.

It is on two hectares within a 90-minute drive to the Sydney CBD.

The home has a commercial-grade kitchen, separate caterer’s kitchen, self-contained guest accommodation, two cellars, a library, ten-car garage and an irrigation system.

Bellagio is for sale through Di Jones Real Estate Southern Highlands agent, Kate McCullagh. Price: $12 million-plus. Inspect: By appointment.