This Coast home can be yours for $2.5 million. History stretches back 100 years
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- Villa del Mare was originally built as a fishing camp in 1927.
- The 5,497-square-foot house has five bedrooms and five full baths.
- The historic Mississippi landmark is on the market near Ocean Springs.
A Mississippi landmark home is on the market for $2.5 million in Gulf Hills.
The rambling, Spanish-style home has so many stunning features that the eye darts from one to another: wood-framed French doors with fanlight transoms; rooms lined with casement windows, many with fanlight transoms; a vintage Czechoslovakian chandelier in the entryway, heart pine floors, high ceilings and a waterfront view that stretches across the rolling back lawn.
The house sits on 1.4 acres with 250 feet on the Old Fort Bayou waterfront in Jackson County. It’s name, on a painted sign near the front door, is Villa del Mare, Italian for “home by the sea.” The house was originally built as a fishing camp in 1927. It was part of the original Gulf Hills resort perched just north of downtown Ocean Springs, and was one of only two homes initially built in the development.
The house was designated as a Mississippi landmark in 2008, according to the Mississippi Department of Archives & History.
Greg and Cecelia Cenac bought the house in 2022, and have poured a great deal of time and attention into it. The Cenacs said they’ve renovated seven houses all told, two of them historic.
She is from the Mississippi Coast, while her husband was raised in Louisiana. They lived for 10 years in Colorado, but were missing the South after they raised their son and daughter. Their real estate agent showed them Villa del Mare just as it hit the market.
“It’s an amazing house,” Cecelia Cenac said.
Historic home offers modern features
The Cenacs have thoroughly enjoyed their home but are ready to downsize. Villa del Mare is 5,497 square feet. It has five bedrooms, five full baths and more storage space than usual for a 100-year-old home, including a walk-in closet in the primary suite.
The kitchen and baths have luxurious tile floors.
The house also features a pantry, large laundry room and light-filled dining room separated from the living room by a graceful fireplace with a plaster finish that matches the walls. It has a three-car garage and a pool that sits out front inside a gated, walled courtyard.
The Cenac’s favorite room is the back porch. It faces the water, where they have a dock and boathouse. On one side of the lawn, the limbs of a centuries-old Live oak fan across the grass.
A tiled indoor alcove with arched, plate-glass windows centers the house and leads to the back porch. The Cenacs enlisted a structural engineer and architect who specializes in historic construction when they rebuilt the alcove and back porch about two years ago after damage from a microburst.
Perfect home for entertaining
“It’s a great house to entertain,” Cecelia Cenac said. The Cenacs have hosted many parties in the house, including political and community fundraisers and even a Jackson County police appreciation event. There’s an outdoor brick grilling area, complete with an inlaid grill perfect for roasting pigs or cooking pizza.
The house was obviously meant for the most recent phase of the Cenac’s life. The antique furniture, artwork, china and family heirlooms they collected over 37 years of marriage fit perfectly and enhance the home’s historic qualities. All the rooms are spacious.
While Hurricane Katrina unmoored many waterfront homes from their foundations, Villa del Mare’s brick foundation on creosote timbers, cement walls and heavy Spanish tile roof meant their house stood firm.
Out back, Cenac sinks crab traps from the dock. The couple enjoys boating and he loves to fish. They are waiting for the right buyer and, meanwhile, continuing to enjoy Villa del Mare.
“It’s a beautiful home,” Greg Cenac said, “and it’s fun.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
