5 things to know about the ex-Versace mansion

[July 24, 2013]  MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- 1. THE HOME. The three-story, Mediterranean-style home at 1116 Ocean Drive was originally built in 1930 by Standard Oil heir Alden Freeman and modeled after Alcazar de Colon, the house built by Christopher Columbus' family in 1510 in what is now the Dominican Republic.

2. GIANNI VERSACE. He bought the mansion and a hotel next door in 1992 after the property had fallen into disrepair and spent $33 million on renovations. He was fatally shot on the mansion's stone front steps in 1997 by serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who later shot himself as a police search closed in on him.

3. THE HIGHLIGHTS: The 23,000-square-foot mansion has 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a 54-foot-long mosaic pool lined with 24-karat gold and an open-air courtyard.

4. THE WORTH: The property was sold in 2000. The minimum bid for the auction is set for $25 million. The sale price was initially listed at $125 million last year. The asking price dropped to $100 million and then last month to $75 million. High-profile attorney Scott Rothstein owned a share in the mansion, until federal agents seized it among his other assets in their investigation into a massive Ponzi scheme.

5. SINCE VERSACE'S DEATH: The mansion was renamed Casa Casuarina and operated as a private club and then a boutique hotel until earlier this year. A bankruptcy court appointed Fisher Auction Company to put the property up for auction Sept. 17. Bidders must be prequalified and place a $3 million deposit.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.