Joe Montana Selling His Tuscan-Style Villa for $49 Million

Former San Francisco 49er and football legend Joe Montana put his Sonoma house on the market, according to The Wall Street Journal. The price? $49 million. You might think that's a lot, but you can't put a price on a labor of love.

Montana and his wife, Jennifer, were so drawn to the Italian lifestyle that they spent the last decade recreating a 9,700-square-foot Tuscan-style villa on 500 acres in Calistoga, California. Surrounded by mountains, hills and forest, the home is extremely private with expansive, breathtaking views. It features imported European details, horse stables with an indoor arena and a separate gym building. The enormous kitchen includes a green marble slab brought from Italy.

The former football great's love of food and wine is another reason that the couple was drawn to Italy. In fact, he almost purchased a local winery. However, his wife says that ultimately Joe "needed a beer tap, a pretty good-sized television screen and a barbecue area," which somehow ended up turning into a compound that included a white-sand beach with a 45-foot-deep bass pond, basketball court and horse trails.



Another personal feature in the home is the Montana crest, painted over the fireplace in the loggia (who has a loggia!?). The crest was painted by an artist from the South of France. If you're a Montana, then this home might be calling your name!

The Montanas are relocating to Thousand Oaks, California -- 400 miles south of Calistoga -- to be closer to their kids. (Their two sons are football players.) It's a shame they can't take this property with them.