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by Kymberly Taylor
Photography by Brian Landis
Annapolis is filled with many architectural surprises. Tucked away on the banks of Little Magothy is a contemporary version of a Victorian-era Painted Lady owned by Gaetano “Gae” DiZebba, a 5th-generation mason and custom builder. DiZebba worked with architect Dave Riegel to bring his vision to life. She is decked out in 20 resplendent colors with medallions and fleurs-de-lis on her gable peaks. A “Painted Lady” is a wooden Victorian-era home painted in three colors or more. The tradition started in San Francisco when the Gold Rush ushered in a time of great prosperity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Victorian architecture was in vogue, and many grand homes were painted in bright colors to highlight their spindles, turrets, towers, and other extravagant architectural details.
DiZebba has always been drawn to color and the Victorian style. He grew up on job sites with his father, learning the art of custom building and masonry from the ground up. For aesthetic inspiration, he studied the Queen Anne and Victorian-style homes in San Francisco and Cape May, New Jersey, taking ideas from each one. He also consulted with his friend, Bruce Preston.
“I just think there is more to look at when you have color, and you can do a lot more with the design of the house,” says DiZebba.
He points out many custom elements. The colors of the exterior include dark pumpkin, terracotta, gold, Victorian Blue, and Brigadoon Red. Sage green columns have crown molding. The windows are outlined in a deeper tone of blue.
Underneath the second story, the shingles are laid closer together to create a subtle uplifted “French curve.” The standing seams and downspouts are copper.
As a tribute to his father, he designed a chimney with a sawtooth relief created with interlocking hand-laid bricks from Virginia. On the top is a decorative flue top.
There are other unusual details to consider. For example, the stained glass on the front door is modeled after a scene in Godfather II.
In the early morning mists, this multi-colored home with five gables, a French curve, and neat chimney almost feels imaginary. In The Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard notes that “Asking a child to draw his house is asking him to reveal the deepest dream shelter he has found for his happiness.” If DiZebba were asked to draw a “dream shelter,” this would indeed be it. A Painted Lady has sprung from his imagination to find her form beside a cove, surrounded by a grove of wild pear trees bordered by roses.
ARCHITECT: Dave Riegel
BUILDER: DiZebba & Sons, Inc.
Interesting fact: The term “Painted Ladies” was coined in 1978 by Elizabeth Pomada when she published her book: Painted Ladies: San Francisco’s Resplendent Victorians.
© Annapolis Home Magazine
Vol. 16, No. 6 2025