Come visit an EXQUISITE estate home on nearly 10 acres in Potomac, Maryland! Located at 13320 Signal Tree Lane, the home, with many of its materials imported from Italy, is truly one of a kind. The moment you arrive at ~Albero del Segnale,~ which is Italian for ~Signal Tree,~ you~ll feel like you've been transported into Tuscany. Designed with Principal Architect Mark Sullenberger of Custom Design Concepts in McLean, Virginia, this home features antique building materials, fine finishes and exquisite details.~Albero del Segnale is not just an estate,~ said Mancuso, ~It is an architectural statement to one family~s love of Italy, transported to a beautiful and historic setting in Maryland that looks remarkably like the Italian countryside.~ The home was built by Dr. Gregory Prince and his wife, JaLynn Rasmussen Prince. Gregory Prince is the co-founder of Virion Systems, Inc. (VSI), a company that prevents and treats pediatric infectious diseases. He helped to develop a drug that is currently given to a quarter-million high-risk infants throughout the world each year. Together, the Princes also established the Madison House Autism Foundation, named after their youngest son, who is autistic. The foundation addresses issues facing individuals adults who have autism, their family members and their caregivers. Not only is the home exquisite in every way, but also the site itself is of historical significance. The street name, Signal Tree Lane, is derived from a tall chestnut tree that was on the corner of the property during the Civil War. Union troops stripped the foliage from it and built a network of ladders to the top, from which they had a direct line-of-sight to Washington, D.C., and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The ~signal tree~ was a relay station for messages. During construction of the home, workers were digging a trench for the utilities to the house, and they unearthed artifacts from the Civil War encampment.The inspiration for this home was from an Italian ~borgo,~ a small, hilltop town that often coalesced over the centuries as new sections were added to old buildings. Massimo Ubaldi, a third-generation Italian ironsmith, designed and built all the interior and exterior iron railings, as well as the large iron chandelier in the main staircase. All the ironwork was fabricated in Italy and installed in the house by Ubaldi and his colleagues.The Princes traveled to Italy to source authentic, antique materials for the home. The handmade, terra cotta floors on the basement and main levels, as well as the fireplaces, are up to 500 years old and were obtained from various companies near Rome that salvage and repurpose antique building materials. Antique wooden doors, most of them up to 300 years old, are scattered throughout the basement and main floor. Many of these doors were used for cabinets and closets. Antique Italian chandeliers are dispersed throughout the home, providing a unique lighting ambiance. Hand-cut wooden beams and planks were used extensively in the architectural design. All five of the garage doors are from a 150-year-old barn. The front of the home resembles a piazza of an Italian town with its large paved stone area. This setting is perfect for old-world hospitality, where tables can be arranged on the piazza for a dinner party. Arriving at the home through the massive, wooden front doors, your guests will enter a world of columns, archways, beamed ceilings, marble, wrought-iron railings and tall windows radiating light through this architectural masterpiece. This classic atmosphere reverberates throughout the home, it is truly sui generis!!!All prospective purchasers must be pre-qualified and show proof of funds prior to showings.