Villa Zorayda Museum in St. Augustine, FL

Mind-boggling collection of ancient artifacts. The story of the ancient cat-hair rug is truly astounding ! Reminded me a lot of Vizcaya in Miami.

Once a winter’s home built in the late 19th century and owned by an eccentric Boston millionaire, Franklin Webster Smith, it is now a unique museum that takes about 45-60 minutes to tour. An easy-to-use audio guide in either English, Spanish and French are provided. At one time there were guided tours, but staffing issues force the museum to use the audio guide approach. Typical of many Gilded age millionaires, the Smiths did plenty of traveling, particularly in Spain and in the Middle East. Franklin fell in love with Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. Placing a home with a Moorish Revival style home seemed the proper thing to do in St. Augustine. Franklin used crushed coquina—shell fragments made mostly of clams-- and mixed it with Portland Cement (an Edison company). Franklin was the first to use this style of architecture using coquina which influenced other buildings to have similar structure like Flagler College and the Lightner Museum. More than likely, Franklin observed that the Castillo de San Marcos fort is made up of coquina that has stood the test of time. Smith wanted his home to stand for a very long time too. In the audio guide you will find that the name Villa Zorayda came from a Washington Irving’s book, Tales of Alhambra. After Smith's death, the home was sold to another millionaire, Abraham Mussallem who turned the home into a hotel, casino and finally in 1933 a museum. The Mussallem family still owns the property. In the middle of the home is a unique two-storied courtyard. At Christmas, there is a decorated tree standing in the middle of the courtyard. The poster picture of this courtyard is with a most beautiful tree. The current tree I found to be disappointing. The home does have many of the original Smith-Mussallem antiques. I liked the old roulette wheel, pictures from 19th century Middle East and various antique lamps and furniture. The most unique item is a 2400-year-old rug known as “Sacred Cat Rug.” Cat hairs were used to make this large rug. Not mentioned if these Cats, found along the river Nile, were euthanized or not to make this creation. Admission is about $15. I found this home to be fascinating and the history behind it. For example, Franklin W. Smith was an ardent abolitionist from Boston, who later exposed the Navy for corruption during the Civil War. The Navy charged him with corruption and he was found guilty. President Lincoln saw the injustice in the situation and pardoned Franklin. There are plenty of layers to this home and man. We also found a tour of Flagler College to be highly interesting. Also, the Lightner Museum is filled with plenty of unique antiques and stories too. If you found this review “helpful” in any way, please click the “thumbs-up” icon to let me know.

We live in St. Augustine and haven't been to Villa Zorayda in probably 10 years. It is really a great experience. It's a step back in time and filled with a lot of interesting art and furniture from various parts of the world.

I visited Villa Zorayda years ago while visiting friends and it was one of the most interesting museums I've ever been to. So on a recent trip with my husband, I took him there. It is a fabulous place to spend a few hours or an afternoon, so different, so beautiful and full of art, artifacts and history. The museum was built by a wealthy Boston man based on the Spanish Palace Alahambra and the moorish architecture is beyond beautiful. There is an audio self guided tour and you can take as long as you like in each room. The beautiful enclosed center courtyard is stunning and reminded me of the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston. The Harem room and the Ancient cat rug are shrouded in mystery and intrigue, but I'm not going to spoil the fun so go and find out for yourself. From the moment you walk in the door, the lovely volunteers, the Spanish guitar music, you are instantly transported to another place. I came out feeling so relaxed, I didn't want to leave. Don't miss this gem of a place.