Iconic Frank Lloyd Wright Home May Be Moved from New Jersey to Italy to Protect It from Flood Damage

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/frank-lloyd-wright-designed-massaro-house-and-private-island-for-sale-in-ny/" target="_blank">Frank Lloyd Wright</a>’s gorgeous <a href="http://www.bachmanwilsonhouse.com/" target="_blank">Bachman Wilson House</a> in Millstone, New Jersey may be making a move to Italy. The historic home’s owners, <a href="http://www.tarantinostudio.com" target="_blank">Sharon and Lawrence Tarantino</a>, are currently looking for a buyer to move the home to Fiesole, a town outside of Florence that Wright lived in 1910. The Tarantinos, who had restored the home to its original splendor, say that they want to move the house to protect it, because of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/photos-hurricane-sandy-already-flooding-brooklyn/east-river-flooding-728/" target="_blank">increasing flooding</a> in the area.

Built in 1954, the Bachman Wilson House bears <a href="http://inhabitat.com/frank-lloyd-wright-fallingwater-underground-eco-cottages/" target="_blank">Wright’s signature cantilevered balcony</a>, and a second story which is rare in Usonian house design.

The house fell into disrepair until the Tarantinos, both architects, bought it in 1988, completely restoring it according to Wright’s drawings, and have inhabited the home since.

But with <a href="http://inhabitat.com/global-warming/" target="_blank">climate change</a>, so comes flooding, and the site of the Bachman Wilson house has been susceptible to flood damage.

Wanting to preserve Wright’s heritage, the Tarantinos first tried to move the home to New York. The sale fell through, so they turned to Italy, contacting Italian architect <a href="http://www.estateprojects.com/" target="_blank">Paolo Bulletti</a>, who staged a Wright exhibition in Fiesole in 2010.

With Bulletti acting as their agent, the couple is seeking around $1.5 million for the home, plus the cost of moving the home to Italy.

The Tarantinos have agreed that Fiesole is an appropriate choice, as the Bachman Wilson house was designed just after <a href="http://inhabitat.com/frank-lloyd-wright-biopic-taliesin-to-be-directed-by-bruce-beresford/" target="_blank">Wright</a> returned from a second trip to the small town.