Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, Literature museum in Vailima, Western Samoa.
The Robert Louis Stevenson Museum is housed in Villa Vailima, a restored mansion set on a wooded hill above Apia in Samoa. The building has five bedrooms, a library, and a fireplace, the only one built in Western Samoa at that time.
The Scottish writer had the house built to his own specifications and lived there until his death in 1894. Exactly one century later, the property opened as a museum.
The house displays personal objects from Stevenson's daily life, including a piano and a Rodin sculpture. The furnishings give a direct sense of how the writer and his family lived in this place.
The grounds are easy to walk and are located close to central Apia. Paths from the property lead up to Mount Vaea, where the writer's grave sits at the top.
The name Vailima comes from the Samoan language and means water running through vines. The house was the first in Samoa to have electric light, a detail that often goes unnoticed by visitors.
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