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With Florence so close, our countryside
has become the privileged territory where the wealthiest families of the city
funnelled their real estate investments. Nobles, financiers, merchants, rich
religious institutions bought land and farms, built beautiful villas which
became the summer residences of the most important families and of those who
wanted to become “important”. The villas had to show the wealth and the taste of
the owner and often became the symbolic backdrop of the legends on the “nobilty”
of the owning family.
Villas, just like any medieval fortress, were built in the heart of the
properties that the family had been buying over decades, investing profits from
trade or usury. Next to them, was a chapel, dedicated to a protector saint,
where members of the family were buried. Gardens, orchards, parks and patches of
woodland were all around them.
Part of the main building or a detached one served as a farm.
Today, the ownership of most of these villas has changed hands and they have
been converted into modern apartments, hotels and the like, but all of them
maintain their charm and elegance.
Following is a list of some of the dozens of villas scattered over the hills of
our territory:
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Villa di
Altomena (Pelago)
Originally a castle belonging to the Guidi Counts,
it became property of the Abbey of Vallombrosa. Between the 14th and 15th
centuries, it underwent major changes.
At the beginning of the 18th century, it was transformed into a farm, with
cellars and new rural outbuildings. |
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Villa di
Bossi (Pontassieve)
Villa Bossi is a building dating back to the 16th
century, modified in the 18th and enlarged in the 19th. Belonging to the
Gondi family, the villa is endowed with cellars full of huge barrels. |
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Villa Busini (Rufina)
Near Castiglioni, Villa Busini keeps a smart italian
garden, with sculptures. |
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Villa di
Celle (Dicomano)
Imposing building from the 17th century, well
integrated in a rural estate and surrounded by trees. It has a double
flight of stairs with a raised entrance. |
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Villa le
Fonti (Pontassieve)
Elegant building from the Renaissance era formerly
belonged to the Guadagni family. The valuable architectural style,
attributed to the school of Buontalenti, is characterized by a double
three-arched open gallery. |
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Villa di
Grassina (Pelago)
Belonging to the Abbey of Vallombrosa during the
18th century, it was later sold to the Buondelmonti family. The main
facade, very lengthened, has a central unit between two towers. |
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Villa di
Gricigliano (Pontassieve)
Fortalice belonged to the Guadagni family until the
mid 1400s and later transformed into a rural villa by the Martelli family.
Unusual, in our area, is the fish tank running along three sides of the
building. |
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Villa di
Grignano (Pontassieve)
Villa Gondi at Grignano is an ample home built in
1840, characterized by a striking architectural symmetry. The building is
surrounded by a garden and is located on the top of a hill overlooking the
valley of the river Sieve. |
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Villa delle
Lame (Rufina)
Built by the Della Rena family, it subsequently
passed to the Martellinis and, in 1850, to the Albizis. The building, in
severe 17th century style, is surrounded by a big park. |
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Villa dei Mandri (Reggello)
The building complex, standing along the old
itinerary named “Strada dei Sette ponti”, belonging to a cadet branch of
the Medici family, features a 17th century architectural style. |
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Villa di
Melosa (Pelago)
The building complex, once belonged to the Donis and
Gozzolis, stands on a small hill facing south. It features two curious
cylindrical towers and a porch in the inner yard. |
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Villa di
Nipozzano (Pelago)
Great villa of the Albizi family, built during the
first years of the 17th century, not far away from the castle of Nipozzano. |
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Villa Pitiana (Reggello)
Great villa of 19th century forms, it is located
upon a hill overlooking the valley of Vicano, near Tosi and just upriver
of Donnini. Today it serves as an elegant accommodation for tourists. |
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Villa Poggio
Reale (Rufina)
In addition to the architectural value of the
beautiful building, it is worth mentioning the scenic surrounding park and
the:
-> Museum of
Wine and Winery |
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Villa la
Rocchetta (Pontassieve)
Building of the late 16th century, with a nice open
gallery along the facade facing south. At its foot, is a terraced Italian
garden. |
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Villa
Tornaquinci (Pontassieve)
Between Sieci and Molino del Piano, under Monteloro
hills, the Villa Tornaquinci keeps a chapel dedicated to S. Francesco,
with a valuable series of frescoes, dated 1587. |
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