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$35 Million Baroque Palazzo in Beverly Hills Gets Modern Makeover

The Italianate mansion has come back on the market with a new look and a $16 million price increase

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A colossal Baroque-inspired mansion that drew the ire of its Beverly Hills neighbors when Russian emigres built the home in 1991 is now selling for $35 million.

Owners of the eight-bedroom mega-mansion—with a stone facade modeled after the 17th—century Italian church San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane—tried to market the home in 2014, but took it down apparently after getting flack for its the outrageously ornate interiors.

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After getting a modern update, the 10,380-square-foot home hit the market Wednesday for $16 million more than it was listed for in 2014. Painters steamrolled the dramatic Caravaggio-esque murals in eggshell white and contemporary abstract art has replaced depictions of naked maidens playing violins, according to images pre- and post-makeover.

The home is modeled after the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome.

Composite: Wikimedia Commons; Williams & Williams Estates

They’ve also replaced pink marble floors with stone and removed the ornate draperies from the windows.

Builders toned down the Art Nouveau-style kitchen with a coat of white paint and installed all new, top-of-the-line appliances, according to the listing with Rayni Romito Williams of Williams & Williams and Hilton & Hyland. Ms. Williams was not immediately available for comment.

Sellers Leonid Glosman, a dentist and real estate investor, and his wife, Natalie, bought the land underlying their ornate home for $2.2 million in 1988, and then fought their neighbors tooth and nail to build the Italianate mansion in an area marked by low-slung ranches.

At an impassioned Beverly Hills Planning Commission meeting, the chairman at the time equated the Glosman’s grandiose plans, which included building a swimming pool and tennis court, with violating the Hollywood hills.

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"It's looming. It's dominating," said then-commissioner MeraLee Goldman, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The couple persisted and eventually built some iteration of their lavish dream home, at eight bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. The couple could not immediately be reached for comment for this story.

Interior vestiges of their Baroque tastes are still evident behind the white paint and dark-stained wood, including the flourishes of Rococo molding, hulking chandeliers and a solid bronze double staircase in the soaring, 30-foot foyer.