Monticello or Little Mountain in Italian is the personal estate of the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. It is a 5000-acre plantation estate and has the distinction of being the only historic house in the United States to be on the list of the United Nations' World Heritage.
This historic and cultural landmark is situated on the outskirts of Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It stands on the peak of a 260 meter-high mountain peak of the Southwest Mountains, south of the Rivanna Gap. It was honored by the US Post Office in 1956 by releasing a postage stamp. Later, the US government also declared it a National Historic Landmark.
This house was initially designed by Jefferson himself and its architectural style was based on the neoclassical principles of Andrea Palladio, the Italian Renaissance architect. In 1938 and since then, a nickel was minted with an image of the west façade of Monticello, etched by Felix Schlag. Monticello also appeared on the reverse side of a two-dollar bill from 1928 to 1966, after which it was discontinued.
Here, you will be overwhelmed by Jefferson's vast collection of books, furniture, gifts, reproductions and historic plants that show his personal interests. You can also see the exquisitely designed house that Jefferson built and set up for himself and his family.
You can take a closer peek into his life by seeing the introductory film here titled, Thomas Jefferson's World, which describes Monticello's significance to Jefferson's life, work, ideals and accomplishments.