In 2013, venture-capital investor Bandel Carano and his wife, Paula, bought nearly 12 acres in Portola Valley, California, for $13.625 million and later developed the property into Villa del Prato. Image Credits: Instagram @ Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty.
In 2013, venture-capital investor Bandel Carano and his wife, Paula, bought nearly 12 acres in Portola Valley, California, for $13.625 million and later developed the property into Villa del Prato, a newly built Italian-style estate. Completed in 2021, the property includes a 12,300-square-foot main residence alongside separate entertainment and pool buildings.
The estate includes three buildings: a 12,000-square-foot main house, a 6,500-square-foot entertainment building and a 2,000-square-foot pool house. The residence comprises six bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, according to the listing of the property, with interior architecture reflecting Italian design style. One distinctive feature is a 900-square-foot dressing area that can also serve as a safe room. Another feature is a 3,500-bottle wine cellar, while the entertainment building includes a ballroom and a loggia for private events and business gatherings. Its flat 12-acre site is unusual in a neighbourhood where large parcels are hard to find. The deal was also above the previous record of $35 million for any single-family residence in Portola Valley, which was held by the 13-acre estate of Sun Microsystems founder Scott McNealy back in 2024. Villa del Prato was an estate turned into an entirely new Italian-style compound by the Caranos, who bought the land in 2013.
Villa del Prato was meant to be not just a large building but an estate consisting of multiple buildings. The exterior is also important. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons.
