Today’s topic is an abandoned mansion, but it was once a gorgeous and luxurious home designed for a prominent citizen of northern Italy. It’s often described as haunted and as having a dark history, but there are some interesting contradictions regarding that story.

Research:
“Caravan Journal, the rediscovered manuscript. The Orient through the eyes of a forgotten Milanese patriot: Felice De Vecchi.” Arte.IT: The Map of Art in Italy. https://www.arte.it/calendario-arte/milano/mostra-giornale-di-carovana-il-manoscritto-ritrovato-l-oriente-attraverso-gli-occhi-di-un-patriota-milanese-dimenticato-felice-de-vecchi-4835
“Cesare Maria De Vecchi in Rhodes.” Palace of the Grand Master. https://grandmasterpalacerhodes.gr/cesare-maria-de-vecchi/
Claus, Patricia. “Mussolini's Old Villa on Rhodes Still on Real Estate Market.” Greek Reporter. July 17, 2020. https://greekreporter.com/2020/07/17/mussolinis-old-villa-on-rhodes-still-on-real-estate-market/
Britannica Editors. "Aleister Crowley". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Oct. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleister-Crowley
Frigo, Marco. “Villa De Vecchi: the haunted mansion inhabited by ghosts not far from Milan with a mysterious, dramatic and fascinating past.” Milano Segreta. Oct. 6, 2025. https://milanosegreta.co/en/villa-de-vecchi-ghost-mansion/
Linstrom, Emily. “Villa de Vecchi.” Atlas Obscura.
Lecco, Alberto, Foot, John. "Milan". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Oct. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Milan-Italy
Linstrom, Emily. “Villa de Vecchi.” Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/villa-de-vecchi
“History of Milan.” Civitatis Milan. https://www.introducingmilan.com/history
Imam, Maham. “ATHENAEUM: Adaptive reuse of Villa De Vecchi into a public Library.” University of Management and Technology, Lahore. 2023. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j3dhAHK8v4i-vV_IkAB8WXWMXpCEP_BQ/view?pli=1
Philip, Lizzie. “The Real Story Behind Northern Italy’s Abandoned ‘Ghost Mansion.’” Atlas Obscura. Oct. 17, 2018. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ghost-mansion-in-northern-italy#:~:text=Place-,Villa%20de%20Vecchi,explore%20more%20Atlas%20Obscura%20videos.
Pitzalis, Bruno. “Step Inside an Abandoned ‘Ghost Mansion’ of Northern Italy. Atlas Obscura. Oct. 9, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTP2erZ7CBc&t=38s
Santarelli, Enzo. “DE VECCHI, Cesare Maria.” Biographical Dictionary of Italians. https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/de-vecchi-cesare-maria_(Dizionario-Biografico)/
“Sidoli, Alessandro  (1812-1855), Architekt, Maler und Graphiker.” Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon. Austrian Center for Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage. (Translated.) https://www.biographien.ac.at/oebl/oebl_S/Sidoli_Alessandro_1812_1855.xml
Smee, Taryn. “The Red House – Italy’s Most Haunted Villa Which Lies Abandoned and Off Limits.” The Vintage News. Nov. 20, 2018. https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/11/20/villa-de-vecchi/
“Villa De Vecchi, Italy: A Timeless Masterpiece of Architectural Splendor.” Rethinking the Future. https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/articles/villa-de-vecchi-italy

Today&rsquo;s topic is an abandoned mansion, but it was once a gorgeous and luxurious home designed for a prominent citizen of northern Italy. It&rsquo;s often described as haunted and as having a dark history, but there are some interesting contradictions regarding that story.
Research:
<ul>
<li>&ldquo;Caravan Journal, the rediscovered manuscript. The Orient through the eyes of a forgotten Milanese patriot: Felice De Vecchi.&rdquo; Arte.IT: The Map of Art in Italy. https://www.arte.it/calendario-arte/milano/mostra-giornale-di-carovana-il-manoscritto-ritrovato-l-oriente-attraverso-gli-occhi-di-un-patriota-milanese-dimenticato-felice-de-vecchi-4835</li>
<li>&ldquo;Cesare Maria De Vecchi in Rhodes.&rdquo; Palace of the Grand Master. https://grandmasterpalacerhodes.gr/cesare-maria-de-vecchi/</li>
<li>Claus, Patricia. &ldquo;Mussolini's Old Villa on Rhodes Still on Real Estate Market.&rdquo; Greek Reporter. July 17, 2020. https://greekreporter.com/2020/07/17/mussolinis-old-villa-on-rhodes-still-on-real-estate-market/</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Aleister Crowley".&nbsp;Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Oct. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleister-Crowley</li>
<li>Frigo, Marco. &ldquo;Villa De Vecchi: the haunted mansion inhabited by ghosts not far from Milan with a mysterious, dramatic and fascinating past.&rdquo; Milano Segreta. Oct. 6, 2025. https://milanosegreta.co/en/villa-de-vecchi-ghost-mansion/</li>
<li>Linstrom, Emily. &ldquo;Villa de Vecchi.&rdquo; Atlas Obscura.</li>
<li>Lecco, Alberto, Foot, John. "Milan".&nbsp;Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Oct. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Milan-Italy</li>
<li>Linstrom, Emily. &ldquo;Villa de Vecchi.&rdquo; Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/villa-de-vecchi</li>
<li>&ldquo;History of Milan.&rdquo; Civitatis Milan. https://www.introducingmilan.com/history</li>
<li>Imam, Maham. &ldquo;ATHENAEUM: Adaptive reuse of Villa De Vecchi into a public Library.&rdquo; University of Management and Technology, Lahore. 2023. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j3dhAHK8v4i-vV_IkAB8WXWMXpCEP_BQ/view?pli=1</li>
<li>Philip, Lizzie. &ldquo;The Real Story Behind Northern Italy&rsquo;s Abandoned &lsquo;Ghost Mansion.&rsquo;&rdquo; Atlas Obscura. Oct. 17, 2018. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ghost-mansion-in-northern-italy#:~:text=Place-,Villa%20de%20Vecchi,explore%20more%20Atlas%20Obscura%20videos.</li>
<li>Pitzalis, Bruno. &ldquo;Step Inside an Abandoned &lsquo;Ghost Mansion&rsquo; of Northern Italy. Atlas Obscura. Oct. 9, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTP2erZ7CBc&amp;t=38s</li>
<li>Santarelli, Enzo. &ldquo;DE VECCHI, Cesare Maria.&rdquo; Biographical Dictionary of Italians. https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/de-vecchi-cesare-maria_(Dizionario-Biografico)/</li>
<li>&ldquo;Sidoli,&nbsp;Alessandro&nbsp;&nbsp;(1812-1855), Architekt, Maler und Graphiker.&rdquo; &Ouml;sterreichisches Biographisches Lexikon. Austrian Center for Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage. (Translated.) https://www.biographien.ac.at/oebl/oebl_S/Sidoli_Alessandro_1812_1855.xml</li>
<li>Smee, Taryn. &ldquo;The Red House &ndash; Italy&rsquo;s Most Haunted Villa Which Lies Abandoned and Off Limits.&rdquo; The Vintage News. Nov. 20, 2018. https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/11/20/villa-de-vecchi/</li>
<li>&ldquo;Villa De Vecchi, Italy: A Timeless Masterpiece of Architectural Splendor.&rdquo; Rethinking the Future. https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/articles/villa-de-vecchi-italy</li>
</ul>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Today’s topic is an abandoned mansion, but it was once a gorgeous and luxurious home designed for a prominent citizen of northern Italy. It’s often described as haunted and as having a dark history, but there are some interesting contradictions regarding that story.

Villa de Vecchi

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/010a74fd-a7e3-4e0b-8e57-b37f00d675eb/transcript

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