Villa Idalia is one of only two Italianate mansions in Ontario that have survived largely intact. In the 1900s it was the summer residence of the American ambassador to Switzerland (R.J. Hemmick), in the 1940s a hotel (owned by Mr. and Mrs. M.G. Musgrave), and from 1953-1973 the clubhouse for the Port Hope Golf Course. More recent owners include Hubert and Mary Blomme (1986-1997) and William and Elizabeth Edwards (1997-2016).​

Features of the Italianate style include an elaborate outline, low-pitched gable roofs with wide bracketed eaves, a three-story watchtower, several sets of round-headed windows, and an Italianate entrance door with semi-circular transom. A later addition is a two-story turret with a pointed, dome-shaped roof. Inside, the rich moulding, spacious rooms, and fireplaces remain from the original house intact along with the original ten-feet high stained glass window in the central hallway and the stained glass transom window in the foyer which bears the original owner's coat of arms and insignia - "Foy pour devoir" - Fidelity unto duty.

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  The house has been featured in numerous books of architectural and historical interests including Homesteads (University of Toronto Press, 1979), The Ancestral Roof (Clare, Irwin and Co Ltd, 1963), Bygone Days of East Durham (Richard Ellis Printing, 1981) and most recently - Port Hope: A Treasury of Early Homes (Cruickshank and deVisser, 1987). It is a one-of-a-kind property, unlike any other found in Canada.

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Periodically Idalia House has been featured in films and television shows such as Hoover vs. the Kennedys: The Second Civil War, For the Love of Olivia, Murdoch Mysteries and has been part of the annual Port Hope House Tour organized by the local branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.