The Villa Bella Vista is a property in Chester, Connecticut

Chester, Connecticut

Chester is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,743 at the 2000 census. The town center is also defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place .-Geography:...

 that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 2000.

The property is also known as the Eila Pierre House or as The Ledges.

It was built in 1908, with various changes made to the roof and other remodeling completed after that date.

It was designed by the owner, Eila Pierre, who was inspired by the Italianate architecture

Italianate architecture

The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...

 of farmhouses in northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Although she was not a professional architect, she drew up the plans herself, adapting the form and materials to the settings of the hilltop site.

Masons who built it included Martin Lanzi and his brother Antonio, who both later helped build the Gillette Castle across the river.

The listing was for an area of 5 acres (2 ha).