Tour of a $60 million mansion in Delray Beach, Florida

The owner of an oceanfront mansion in Delray Beach, Florida, is looking to break a local price record with a home that offers old-school Italianate style above ground and hidden personality below.

While the upper levels are adorned with 300 carved stone columns, vaulted ceilings and even a fresco painted in Florence, Italy, the home's subterranean space is packed with modern luxuries, including a supercar gallery, a sparkling tequila bar and a steel vault stuffed with stacks of cash.

The two distinct design themes come together in a limestone-clad residence located on the city’s upmarket South Ocean Boulevard. The 23,000-plus-square-foot home is named Mar Pietra, which means “sea stone” in Italian.

“There were so many stones used in this house that I thought it was appropriate,” owner Massimo Musa told CNBC.

Musa founded and sold several companies in the eye care sector. He also develops real estate and built Mar Pietra with his ex-wife.

The exciting project took five years to complete and employed dozens of artisans, painters and sculptors, many of them from Italy. Tons of limestone were shipped from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula; hand-carved marble traveled from Verona, Italy; and massive cedar panels arrived from Colombia.

According to the listing, the massive home sits on 100 feet of beachfront. There is a main residence and a guest house, and in total, nine bedrooms, 12 full bathrooms, and seven half bathrooms. The subterranean, climate-controlled garage adds 4,000 more square feet, with even more space added through covered areas, such as a luxurious loggia that houses another kitchen, bar, lounge, and dining room.

The massive property is five times larger than the average home sold in Delray Beach during the first quarter, and its eight-figure price tag is more than 18 times the nearly $3.3 million median sales price for a luxury home in the area, according to the Elliman Report. The report defines luxury homes as the top 10 percent of sales.

The highest sales price ever achieved in Delray Beach was $34 million for a property also located on South Ocean Boulevard that sold in 2021. According to public records, the highest sales price per square foot was also recorded in 2021, at just under $2,600 per square foot. Mar Pietra’s list price would put it right in line with that value metric.

The home's massive square footage and gigantic oceanfront yard are a rarity on this stretch of Palm Beach County beach. Musa says that's because of the land's unique zoning history.

Public records show he purchased the land, along with land across the street on the Intracoastal Waterway, for $9 million in 2002. At the time, the waterfront parcel had a hotel on it, meaning the land was subject to hotel zoning regulations. Musa, who immigrated to the U.S. from Italy, tore down the old building so he could build a waterfront family home that paid homage to his home country.

Even after the hotel was demolished, Musa says, the land’s hotel zoning remained intact. That allowed him to build a home with a larger footprint and fewer setbacks. Plus, the residence could extend closer to the shoreline than current residential zoning typically allows.

A portion of the beachfront land that the hotel owners cleared decades ago was also preserved — something Musa told CNBC current regulations would never allow. That cleared space is now a lush perennial lawn, made of artificial turf, that stretches across the back of his one-acre property where it meets the natural vegetation of the sandy shoreline.

The home’s position, 21 feet above sea level, and sheer size are impressive, but as with many properties for sale at this price, it’s not always easy to find a buyer. While the property has been on the market since December 2021, its $60 million price tag remains stable. It is currently being offered by South Florida real estate agent Senada Adzem of Douglas Elliman.

“This trophy property stands as one of South Florida's finest bespoke luxury estates, designed to evoke timeless elegance,” Adzem told CNBC.

According to the Elliman Report, the inventory of luxury single-family homes in the first quarter increased more than 12% from a year ago, and the average sales price of a luxury single-family home in Delray Beach fell more than 33%.

Despite data suggesting the market may be experiencing some headwinds, Adzem remains confident in the list price and South Florida’s high-end real estate market.

“The ultra-luxury real estate market will continue to thrive,” he said. “Wealthy clients love Palm Beach County, as they value oceanfront locations, privacy and uniqueness above all else.”

To back up that claim, Adzem points to a sale just a quarter mile down the street in Highland Beach, where in May alone an oceanfront home sold for $50 million, or more than $2,800 per square foot. On this coast, Mar Pietra might actually be considered a relative bargain. A smaller home nearby, also on South Ocean Boulevard, recently went on the market for $74 million, or about $5,100 per square foot.

According to Adzem, Mar Pietra commands a premium price in part because of the quality of its construction and the property's exceptional zoning allowances, which she called invaluable.

“These generous zoning concessions allowed our client to create a truly unique property that would have been impossible otherwise,” he said.

It's hard to imagine a potential buyer questioning the property for being too small, but Adzem said that in this part of Florida, that's not out of the question. So the real estate agent and her client are ready to offer a solution.

“What really makes the home unique is the fact that my client is willing to sell it along with the Intracoastal Waterway lot, which would create the only ocean-to-Intracoastal Waterway connection community in Delray Beach, Florida.”

Adzem said the two-lot deal would provide enough land to build another waterfront home that could include a rare spot on the Intracoastal Waterway to dock a megayacht. As for the purchase price of the entire package, Adzem said he would only discuss that figure with potential buyers.

The driveway to the house passes through a large arch called a porte-cochere that leads to a circular parking lot. Inside the limestone structure is a two-story guesthouse spanning over 2,700 square feet with three bedrooms, three full bathrooms and two half baths.

Beyond the circular parking lot is a giant stone staircase that ascends to the main residence.

Through arches at the top of the staircase, one can access a central open-air courtyard. Musa says the design was inspired by Miami's Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.

The courtyard leads to the main entrance of the house, where a butterfly staircase reigns over a double-height foyer.

The home's library spans two levels with a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor, and the room offers much more than just books.

Musa says the design of the cedar-wrapped room was inspired by the Vanderbilt estate, while the ceiling fresco was inspired by the Sistine Chapel. The mural, Adzem told CNBC, was painted in Florence, Italy, shipped to Florida and fixed to the ceiling, where the artist did the finishing touches.

The lower level of the library includes an onyx bar and sitting area. On the upper level, windows surrounding the home office offer views of the pool and ocean.

The master suite is also located on the second floor, with views from every window.

The suite's two bathrooms feature contemporary designs, imported marble and walk-in closets. The white marble bathroom seamlessly integrates with a boutique-style dressing room with island cabinets, jewelry display case and separate shoe closet.

Deep beneath the dune on which Mar Pietra stands is an underground lair with a very different design. It is more modern and packed with contemporary luxuries.

The parking area leads to a lounge designed for people who like to admire their cars. A curved glass wall separates the lounge from the garage and offers a spectacular view of the parked supercars. The steel vault on the side wall is a work of art with a working door and stacks of money inside.

The lower level also includes a dedicated tequila bar wrapped in quartzite. After dark, lights embedded in the stone can illuminate the surfaces with a milky white glow.

There is also a state-of-the-art cinema, with a floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall electronic screen, and is one of two cinemas in the house.