Hot Home News: Christmas Castle in the Alps, the Kennedys & Bing Crosby

Online, December 19, 2012 (Newswire.com) - In this week's Top 10 homes spotlight at TopTenRealEstateDeals.com:

If you have ever dreamt of spending the Christmas holidays in an ancient castle in the snow-covered Italian Alps, here's your chance. Sited high on a pinnacle overlooking the Dolomites Mountains, Tuenno Village, and the Adige River is a castle that has been owned by the same family for over 12 centuries. The unusual history of ownership has resulted in a continuity of maintenance and restoration almost impossible to find in similar structures today. The castle is 35,521 square feet with 16 bedrooms, 18 baths and a grand hall with a 15th century fresco. Over the centuries, the family has added original furnishings and antiques, a rare collection of important objects and valuable antique paintings. All of the castle's technical and mechanical systems have been updated and it's move-in ready.

In other home news:

Interesting that while he first sang White Christmas in his NBC radio show on Christmas Day in 1941, Bing probably perfected the Irving Berlin song while sitting out by the pool at one of his former California homes, or playing a round of golf under the California palm trees. No cold winters and snow for him. Bing's former Palm Springs home is for sale at $3.5 million. The home is spread out over 1.36 acres with 6,700 square feet of open living space around a grassy yard with a pool, spa and mountain views. There is also a Kennedy guest wing named after President Kennedy when he stayed there in the early 1960s.

In another Kennedy connection, a New Jersey mansion that was built in 1926 for the heir to the Polish throne and later given as a gift to Gloria Swanson by her paramour, Joseph Kennedy is for sale at $39 million. Joe Kennedy made much of his wealth in the film industry and owned a major Hollywood studio where he met Gloria Swanson. Though their affair was a well known public scandal of the 1920s when both were married, most people did not know that Joe also gave Gloria a glamorous New Jersey mansion. The 24,000 square foot house sits on 5 landscaped acres with 8 bedrooms, 14 baths, 4 kitchens and an aviary.

Real estate is never boring at TopTenRealEstateDeals. Check out today's most entertaining and unusual real estate news stories of the week. News such as weird celebrity homes, haunted homes you can actually buy, and dirty real estate tricks.

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