This magnificent seaside villa built in 1930 was once the palatial home of Italian ambassador Count Natale Labia and his South African wife. It now hosts a program of concerts, lectures and events, as well as housing works from the Labia family’s art collection (including paintings by Irma Stern and Gerald Sekoto) and regularly changing contemporary art exhibitions. The building also houses an excellent cafe and the top-class arts and crafts shop CasBah .
The grand building – designed by Capetonian architect Fred Glennie and furnished by a Venetian interior designer with antique fixtures and fittings – doubled as the embassy residency and legation for several decades. After a varied history, the rights to oversee the building were handed back to the Labias’ son in 2008. It has since undergone a loving restoration.
