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TREASURES OF AND UN ES CO TREASURES OF ITALY One of UNESCO’s main objectives is identifying, protecting, safeguarding, and transmitting the world’s cultural and natural heritage to future generations. AND UN ES CO

Since the adoption of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1972, to date, UNESCO has recognised 1073 world

heritage sites 832 cultural, 206 natural and 35 mixed properties) in 167 countries. S Italy is the country with the largest amount of sites included in the World Heritage List and the “Treasures of Italy and UNESCO” collection takes readers on a journey Y to admire its inimitable treasures of nature, and architecture. N E

Rock Drawings in Valcamonica Padula N Church and Dominican convent of Historic Centre of Santa Maria delle Grazie with “The Archaeological Areas and the Patriarchal D ” by Basilica of Historic Centre of Adriana (Tivoli) A R and its Lagoon Piazza del Duomo,

Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco C Historic Centre of and other Franciscan Sites A Y

The Sassi and the Park of the of N A S G Rupestrian Churches of Villa d’Este (Tivoli) C S

City of and the Palladian Late towns of the Val di U T of the N I

D Historic Centre of U Sacri Monti of and S N

Historic Centre of E Etruscan Necropolises of D

Crespi d’Adda and R N T A

Ferrara, City of the Val d’Orcia G and its Po Delta D

Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of N A Castel del Monte Pantalica A S

The Trulli of : Le Strade Nuove and the system A L L N

Early Christian Monuments of the Palazzi dei Rolli I S V

of and I I C Historic Centre of the city of in the Albula/Bernina I D E 18th Century Royal at Caserta Landscapes A with the Park, the of The M Vanvitelli and the Complex The Longobards in Italy. Places of the L Residences of the Royal House Power (568-774 A.D.) of Savoy Prehistoric Pile dwellings L Botanical Garden, around the Alps I Portovenere, and the and Gardens in

Islands (, and ) V Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont:

Grande, - and Monferrato I Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Arab-NormanPalermo and the Cathedral

Herculaneum and Churches of Cefalù and C

Costiera Amalfitana I Archaeological Areas of Agrigento di Piazza Armerina D di Barumini E and National Park with the Archeological Sites of and and the Certosa di euro 4,90 (i.i.) M THE TREASURES OF ITALY AND THE UN ES CO

MEDICI VILLAS AND GARDENS IN TUSCANY This work has been published under the of the Italian National Commission UNESCO, founded in on 4 th November 1945, is a for UNESCO organisation which deals with culture, education, sciences , and the . With its headquarters in Paris, UNESCO currently has 165 member states . UNESCO has two basic objectives: to promote the dialogue between the cultures of the member states and develop them, and to preserve the cultural and natural heritage of humanity . The former objective is extremely significant in the organisation’s activities, as the body itself was built on the conviction that only Tuscany Region constant intercultural dialogue and development of Directorate for Culture and Research culture, arts, sciences and education systems can Director : Roberto Ferrari encourage cooperation between nations, Department of Cultural Heritage, UNESCO sites, Contemporary Art and Memory Manager : Alessandro Compagnino, understanding between populations economic Partecipating Staff members : Enrica Buccioni, Lisa Covelli progress, social justice and world peace . Scientific coordination : Enrica Buccioni UNESCO pursues the latter goal by identifying, General coordination : Francesca Chiocci, Fondazione Sistema Toscana protecting, safeguarding and transmitting the world’s cultural and natural assets to future generations . Based on an international treaty (the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage ) UNESCO has recognised by now 1073 world heritage sites (832 Project financed by funds cultural , 206 natural and 35 mixed properties) in 167 Law no. 77 of 20 February 2006 countries . “Special measures for the protection and the fruition of Italian cultural, landscape and According to the Convention, cultural heritage means natural sites, inscribed on the “World Heritage List”, under the protection of UNESCO” a monument , a group of buildings or a site of historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value . Texts: Natural heritage, on the other hand, indicates Emanuela Benedetti (Villa of Cafaggiolo), Lorenzo Scaretti (Villa of Trebbio), Enrica Buccioni (Villa of Careggi) Donata Mazzini ( in ), Marco Mozzo physical, biological , and geological features, in (Garden of Castello - ), Hosea Scelza (Villa of Castello), Lorenzo Sbaraglio addition to the habitat of threatened species of (Villa Poggio of Caiano), Bianca Maria Landi (), Cristina Gnoni (Villa of animals and plants and areas of outstanding universal ), Andrea Tenerini (Palazzo in Seravezza), Rossana Biagioni (Garden of value from the aesthetic or scientific point of view . Pratolino), Claudia Cappellini (), Claudia Cataldo (Villa of Artimino), Heritage represents the inheritance of the past that we Cinzia Palumbo (Villa of ) all benefit from and transmit to future generations . Our cultural and natural heritages are an irreplaceable : Alex Gillan source of life and inspiration. Unique and diverse places such as the wild stretches of the Serengeti National Park in Eastern , Editorial coordination : Alessandro Avanzino the Pyramids in Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Baroque Accounting : Paola Ciocca Bianchi cathedrals of American make up our World Heritage . Editing : Titti Motta It is the universal application that makes the concept of World Heritage truly Graphics and page layout : Gabriella Zanobini Ravazzolo exceptional . World Heritage Sites belong to the population of the world, beyond the borders where they are located . © 2018 Sagep Editori www.sagep.it ISBN 978-88-6373-508-6 www..org 4 5

he result of the serial site “Medici Villas and Gardens of Tuscany” becoming part of the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013, although T eagerly awaited, was anything but straightforward. For several years, UNESCO has imposed severe restrictions for new entries in response to a global strategy that aims, with a view to balancing the list, to encourage new sites in categories of properties and geographical areas of the world that are still poorly represented, as opposed to Italy which today boasts a good 53 sites. Despite this, the decision of the 37 th rewarded some complex work which, like all successful nominations, required a considerable deployment of time and resources on the part of many of the subjects involved, and is a demonstration of how cooperation between various institutions (MiBACT, the Tuscany Region, assorted provinces and ), accompanied by subsidiarity and coordination, can lead to positive results for the whole of Italy on the global stage. Solidarity is the key value behind the site, technically called “serial”, i.e. made up of a certain number of component parts that are distinct but inextricably linked, to contribute to that intrinsic outstanding universal value which lies at the foundation of UNESCO recognition, each according to its own specific circumstances but in relation to the whole. The components of the site are 14, all carefully selected within the context of an expansive Medicean heritage. They represent important landmarks with respect to stages, events, or characteristics that were particularly significant in developing the of the noble suburban residence, and for their high degree of compliance with the indispensable requirements of authenticity and integrity. Another fundamental aspect that influenced the listing was the drawing up of inter-institutional agreements for the coordinated management of the site. To this end, two Memoranda of Understanding were signed in which the institutions involved formalized their mutual commitment to managing the UNESCO site as a joint enterprise, despite their dissimilar geographical locations, properties, and intended usage. Great emphasis was laid on issues of protection and conservation, enhancement of the serial system, and agreement over certain priority actions. The latter included some editorial initiatives, such as this one, as a tool to bolster cultural promotion of the serial system.

Francesca Riccio Contact person for the serial site “Medici Villas and Gardens of Tuscany” at the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism General Secretariat UNESCO Coordination Office 6 7

Criterion (II) The Criterion (IV) The association with their and artistic 2013 Medici Villas and Medici baronial rural environment, patronage developed Medici Villas and Gardens Gardens in Tuscany residences provide giving rise to a by the Medici. They are testimony to a eminent examples of landscape taste form a series of key in Tuscany synthesis of the the rural aristocratic specific to locations for the aristocratic rural villa dedicated to and the Renaissance. emergence of the residence, at the end leisure, the arts and ideals and tastes of of the , knowledge. Over a Criterion (VI) The the Italian which embodied a period spanning villas and gardens, Renaissance followed he serial site princely residence series of new political, almost three together with the by their diffusion “Medici Villas in the country economic and centuries, the Medici Tuscan landscapes of throughout . Tand Gardens in where it was aesthetic ambitions. developed many which they are a part, Tuscany” includes possible to live in Villas and gardens innovative made an early and fourteen Medici villas harmony with formed models that architectural and decisive contribution and gardens in nature, and dedicate spread widely decorative forms. The to the birth of a new Giuseppe Zocchi, La Real Tuscany. as much time and throughout Italy ensemble is testimony aesthetic and art of Villa di Careggi , from Vedute delle Ville e d’altri The Medici Villa and energy to leisure during the Renaissance to the technical and living. They are Luoghi della Toscana , its Gardens embody pastimes as to the and then to the whole aesthetic organization testimony to Florence, Allegrini, 1744, an ideal of the arts and knowledge. of modern Europe. of the gardens in exceptional cultural pl.36. 8 9

The UNESCO World Heritage List contains an array of cultural properties that represent key pieces in the history of humanity. They have been recognized as possessing an intrinsic “outstanding universal value” , so important that it transcends their own space and time and, given that they are the heritage of the whole of humanity, they stand for the present and the future. During the 37 th World Heritage Committee session, UNESCO approved the inclusion of the serial site “Medici Villas and Gardens of Tuscany” in its list of World Heritage sites. This was a major triumph for Italian culture, achieved thanks to a collaboration between the Tuscany Region, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (MiBACT), and the Municipalities and Provinces where the fourteen complexes are located. Twelve villas and two gardens scattered across the Tuscan landscape constitute a site that is a testimony to the influence exerted by the Medici family on contemporary European culture through their patronage of the arts. Constructed between the 15 th and 17 th centuries, they epitomize an original system of building in harmony with nature, dedicated to leisure, the arts, and learning. The villas featured innovation in both their form and function, representing a new type of aristocratic residence different from the farms owned by the rich Florentines of the period and from the emblems of feudal power, the . The first example of a link between architecture, gardens, and the surrounding environment, the Medici villas became a benchmark for the aristocratic residences of Italy and the rest of Europe. UNESCO’s prestigious recognition honours both Italy and Tuscany, but over and above the honour, comes the awareness that the region now has a duty and a major commitment to safeguard these treasures which have become a patrimony of humanity. Monica Barni Vice President and Regional Councillor for Culture, University, and Research 10 11

SS12 Fivizzano Sestola SS63 Castel del Rio Gaggio Montano Piazza del Serchio Castiglione di Garfagnana Castiglione dei Pepoli SS12 PARCO ALPI APUANE Barga SS64 Pracchia SR302 MASSA Cantagallo 1 Barberino di Bagni di 2 A11 10 SS12 Camaiore SS65 A11 12 SR302 11 Montecatini LUCCA Terme 6 7 A11 3 4 SS67 Vinci 5 FIRENZE (FLORENCE) SS1 8 PARCO NATURALE 9 13 14 MIGLIARINO SAN ROSSORE PISA MASSACIUCCOLI A11 Marina di Pisa SS1 Pontedera

Collesalvetti Greve in

1. Villa of Cafaggiolo SR439 2. Villa of Trebbio 3. Villa of Careggi SR206 4. Villa Medici in Fiesole 5. Villa and Garden of Castello San Gimignano 6. Villa of Poggio a Caiano SS1 7. Villa La Petraia Colle 8. Boboli Gardens di Val d’ San Gusmé 9. Villa of Cerreto Guidi SS68 10. Palazzo in Seravezza 11. Garden of Pratolino SS68 Casole d’Elsa 12. Villa La Magia SIENA Cecina SS73 13. Villa of Artimino 14. Villa of Poggio Imperiale RISERVA SR439 DI MONTERUFOLI 12 Introduction 13

Tommaso Buzzi, Map Introduction natural heritage Tuscany, a region that families during the of the Medici Villas categories of the was the family’s age of Humanism and created for an exhibition he serial site on Italian Gardens in Flo - UNESCO World homeland and the the Renaissance, rence, 1931; Florence, Mu - “Medici Villas Heritage List, consists seat of the leading players in the seum of the Medici Villa Tand Gardens of of 14 villas and that bore their name. and La Petraia. Tuscany”, now part gardens of the Medici The Medici were one Europe from the 15 th of the cultural and family located in of the most important to the 18 th century. 14 Introduction 15

The Medici Villa The economic, belonging to the were quite remarkable the form of the “villa La Petraia. political, and Medici dynasty patrons of the arts; to with garden” , a new territorial power and became prominent them we owe the kind of settlement, influence of this figures in modern transformation of the and the sign of an family, enriched by history, among them territory in its extremely innovative an exceptional Lorenzo the passage from the system to manage network of Magnificent, the middle ages to the and organize the commercial and Leo X and modern age, in territory. financial activities, Clement VII, and the addition to The “villa with traversed territorial Queen of , fundamental garden” marked the boundaries from their Catherine de’ Medici. contributions to the demise of the feudal original home in the As a result, for cultural revolution occupation of the Apennine area of several generations, that would determine land and the fortified Mugello, to spread the Medici family the birth of modern building type in throughout Tuscany, dominated the thought. favour of a Italy, and the rest of cultural, spiritual, and The maximum conception of the On the following pages: Europe. Many scientific panoramas expression of Medici territory as a pacified Garden of the Medici personalities of their time: they power was fulfilled in place where Villa of Castello. 16 Introduction 17 18 Introduction 19

The Boboli Gardens. architecture was in a borders of Italy. from the point of view Of the 36 Medici renewed dialectical The Medici family’s of the birth and properties examined, and open relationship real estate and land development of this only 14, chosen for with the innate were substantial, not model of suburban their natural features and only in Tuscany, but residence. One result representativeness, the surrounding also in other regions was that the Tuscan were entered on the landscape. of Italy and in France. villas became a World Heritage List This residential model However, with respect privileged place for for their acclaimed and its progressive to these extensive artistic and scientific- cultural, artistic and evolution constituted assets, it was the engineering landscape a prototype that Tuscan properties with experimentation; an significance would inspire future their 36 villas and inexhaustible font of determined by an creations of suburban gardens that formal, compositional, authenticity and an architecture both represented the most and technological exceptional inside and outside the significant complexes innovations. functional, structural, 20 Introduction 21

The Garden of Pratolino. and visual integrity. purchased in 1417, the The series of Medici Villa in Fiesole build On the facing page: villas and gardens is between 1451-57, The Villa Medici in Fiesole. presented according to Castello in 1477, the chronology of Poggio a Caiano acquisitions with begun in 1483, Petraia subsequent from 1544, the Boboli transformations by Gardens of 1550, the Medici of existing Cerreto Guidi of 1555, properties, or Seravezza of 1561, according to the start Pratolino of 1568, La of work on the Magia of 1584, construction of new Artimino of 1593, and buildings. This finally Poggio chronology includes Imperiale from 1622. the inherited Out of these villas, a properties of good 9 can still be seen Cafaggiolo and in the lunettes of the Trebbio, which had Flemish artist Giusto belonged to the Utens (1599-1602) Medici since the commissioned from fourteenth century. him by Ferdinando I These are followed by for the hall of the the Villa of Careggi Artimino Villa.

On the following pages:

p. 20 at the top Villa La Magia. at the bottom Medici Villa of Seravezza. p. 21 at the top The Medici Villa of Artimino. at the bottom The Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano. p. 22 at the top The Medici Villa La Petraia. at the bottom The Medici Villa of Careggi. p. 23 at the top The cloister of the of Trebbio. at the bottom The Medici Villa of Cerreto Guidi. p. 24 Medici Villa of Careggi, the . p. 25 The Medici Villa of Poggio Imperiale. 22 Introduction 23 25 24 Introduction 26 Introduction 27 28 Introduction 29 30 The Medici Villa of Cafaggiolo 31

Giusto Utens, Villa The Medici Cafaggiolo , 1599-1600. Florence, of the Villa of Medici Villa La Petraia. Cafaggiolo he architectural and landscape Tcomplex of Cafaggiolo, arranged around the monumental Villa “built as a fortress”, and formerly fortified and walled, with a self-contained architectural layout and a similar to that of the nearby Villa of Trebbio, still voices its history today and its evolution over time from a defensive garrison for the Medici family to a View of the Villa. country house for 32 The Medici Villa of Cafaggiolo 33

The dream of Cafaggiolo In the monumental complex of the Medici Estate of Cafaggiolo there is an ongoing project of protection and valorization for the redevelopment and recovery of the former Medici farm. In addition to the restoration and reconditioning of these buildings, the historical memory and the splendour of these places will be brought back to light. The philosophy of the project will be founded on the quintessential characteristics of the historical- architectural and environmental- landscape.

View of the façade from holidaying, design by the their own yearnings and other things the garden in front of the relaxation, and to architect for a secluded life in every well-equipped Villa. take care of farming di Bartolomeo, who the countryside villa should have”. All activities, thanks to had already worked devoted to doctum characteristics that its privileged position at Trebbio, into an otium according to defined the in Mugello at the imposing fortified the classic model Renaissance idea of centre of a large palace, its volumes exalted by Cicero, developing the game reserve for strategically Cosimo the Elder, as Mugello residence, hunting and a vast arranged, and Vasari reminds us, which would soon agricultural holding. fortified with towers, also devoted himself become, with Lorenzo The original building, walls with openings to the layout of the the Magnificent, a which evolved for blunderbusses extensive area real holiday resort around a primitive and crossbows, a around the dwelling, and also be used for castle of the , and creating “farms, diligent study, hosting Florentine Republic, , ready for the roads, gardens, and Pico della Mirandola, was transformed defence and military with woods and, between 1443 and control of the all around, ragnaie for long periods, 1451 by the will of territory. But at the (small woods with Agnolo , Cosimo the Elder to a same time, following nets to capture birds), dedicated to the 34 The Medici Villa of Cafaggiolo 35

General view of the Gallery education of Giovanni of an expansion of with agricultural landscaped English General view of the 1 st Sala del known as the “Sala Vasari”. de’ Medici, the future the local road buildings listed in garden at the rear, Cardinale frescoed by Leto Chini in 1887 in response to a Leo X. In the network desired by ancient property and the extensive commission by Prince th middle of the 16 the new Grand registers; lawn in front of the Marc’Antonio Borghese. century, the Grand . As a representing a strong façade Cosimo I had a consequence of the point of the characterized by General view of the 2 nd Sala del Cardinale frescoed by Leto building added behind Unification of Italy, complex’s two large Lebanon Chini in 1887 in response to a the villa, integrated in 1865 the villa was monumental value, cedars. commission by Prince Michelozzo’s sold by the Italian with its 19 th century Emanuela Benedetti Marc’Antonio Borghese. defensive system, and State to the Borghese increased the hunts princes who carried that had always been out radical practised at the restoration work complex, and that geared to a period would continue with reconstruction, the Grand Dukes until adding decorative at least the middle of medieval-style the 17 th century, elements to according to the interventions of a typical seasonal neo-Renaissance rhythms. Under taste. Lorraine rule, though After the demolition fewer initiatives of the embellished the and the double residence, its fortified walls in the traditional function as mid-18 th century, the a strategic stopping Villa’s park now place and post station blends in admirable along the road to the balance with the north was maintained great surrounding and enhanced as part estate, still dotted 36 The Medici Villa of Trebbio 37

Giusto Utens, Villa del The Medici Villa Trebbio , 1599-1602. Florence, Museum of the of Trebbio Medici Villa La Petraia. he Trebbio Castle, on the knoll of Tthe same name, already the property of the Medici family since 1309, preserves the inspired mark of the Florentine architect Michelozzo Michelozzi. From a solitary bulwark guarding the crossroads of an ancient Etruscan/Roman route, Trebbio became a castle around 1364, when some fortified walls were built crowned by external walkways that served to link the tower with two adjacent buildings. Then, according to the records, it was

Trebbio, aerial photo.

On the following pages: The Trebbio hill. The tower of the Villa. The main façade of the Villa. 38 The Medici Villa of Trebbio 39

Michelozzo who, in the early , on behalf of Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici and his son Cosimo, realized the admirable complex, the same castle-villa that we can admire today, accompanied by its loggia and beautiful garden arbour. In the mid-1400s, Trebbio was given to Cosimo’s nephew, Pierfrancesco, and in the summer of 1476 briefly stayed there, while at the end of the century, Botticelli also worked there. Trebbio was then inherited by his grandson, the great , son of Caterina Sforza from Forlì, Giovanni de’ Medici, also known as 40 The Medici Villa of Trebbio 41

The formal twentieth-century “dalle Bande Nere ”, first Grand Duke. In bequeathed it to the castle and farms to Internal courtyard. garden. and there would live 1644, the Grand Duke Oratorians. In 1865, Oreste Codibò, a his wife Ferdinando II sold the when the Italian layman who was also and his son Cosimo entire Trebbio holding Government decided their trusted destined in 1537 to to the Florentine to suppress the administrator. On his govern Florence, of merchant Giuliano religious orders, the death, his nephew which he became the Serragli, who Oratorians gave the Leopoldo seized the complex and squandered the property, letting the buildings fall into disrepair. In 1886, the heirs auctioned Trebbio, and it was purchased by Maria Teresa de la Roche Faucould, widow of prince Marco Antonio Borghese, owner of the nearby Cafaggiolo villa. The whole complex was sold at auction by the Borghese in 1936, and Dr Enrico Scaretti acquired the farms of both Cafaggiolo and Trebbio. In eleven months, the castle of Trebbio, by then in complete ruin, was restored, recovering its original 15 th century plan. Lorenzo Scaretti 42 The Medici Villa of Careggi 43

The Medici Villa of Careggi fter the villas of Cafaggiolo and ATrebbio in Mugello, that of Careggi was the third country residence to be built by the Medici and to be redeveloped by Michelozzo. Situated on the hill of the same name, the residence has the predominant character of a rural villa-farm, whose closeness to the city allowed the Medici to take care of their public and personal business interests there . The building features four storeys, two above The garden. ground, one below

ground plus a loft area, The southern façade. and is characterized by its slightly curved eastern front and a crenelated coping projecting over stone corbels which becomes a unifying element, and invokes the semblance of a fortress without actually being one. The oldest part, the one with the most compact ground plan, has a central courtyard with a loggia. On the ground floor we find the , some reception rooms, and the main staircase leading to the rooms on the upper floor. The courtyard has a trapezoidal shape that follows the profile of the main building, which in turn was built 44 The Medici Villa of Careggi 45

following the path of the main road that skirted it. The courtyard gives access to the ground- floor hall. This dates to the beginning of the 17 th century, and is decorated and frescoed throughout. Of special interest are 16 lunettes with views of imaginary landscapes, seascapes, scenes with ruins, gardens, fountains, and so on. A staircase leads down to the basement, where we find a rare example of an architectural caprice, namely, a nymphaeum, commissioned by Cardinal Carlo de’ Medici in the 17 th century, using a part of the villa’s wine cellars. On the first floor to the left of the main On the facing page: staircase opens the The Loggetta . Salone del Camino, dominated by a fireplace, adorned with bas-reliefs, and dated 1465. Just beyond is Lorenzo the Magnificent’s study, located in the south-eastern corner of the Villa. This is a small room with a barrel , whose walls and ceiling are decorated with frescoes of grotesque motifs. From the hall we reach a room that leads to the first-floor loggia, On the facing page and on which some attribute to this page at the top: Giuliano da Sangallo. Agostino Ubaldini, . Others have dated it to the time of , at the bottom The lemon house. 46 The Medici Villa of Careggi 47

Platonic Founded in Florence in 1462 by Marsilio Ficino, by order of Cosimo de Medici in the Medici Villa of Careggi, the Academy was a circle of philosophers, writers and artists, whose main members, in addition to Ficino himself, were Pico della Mirandola, Poliziano, Nicola Cusano, , , as well as the most prominent members of the Medici family such as Giuliano de Medici, and Lorenzo the Magnificent. Born out of open Humanist meetings (the model that inspired it was Plato’s Symposium) the Academy was essentially a centre of culture, one of the first examples of a modern academy, inspired by new conditions of intellectual and social life determined by the blossoming of Graeco-Roman studies, the habit of organizing scholarly conventions around academics and patrons, lively correspondence, and periodic disputes in public and in private.

nineteenth-century appearance of the park was by wish of Francis Joseph, and even today it is still characterized by arboreal species with tall trees, and the presence of various exotic species. Oil by Antonio Enrica Buccioni Puccinelli.

Hall on the first floor. when the family ceiling would seem to secured enormous date to the period of prestige, or to the Cardinal Carlo de’ period following the Medici, whose coat of third expulsion of the arms is in the centre. Medici, after 1534, The villa hosted the when Duke Alessandro Platonic Academy with had the villa Cosimo the Elder and restructured. The Lorenzo the loggetta was mentioned Magnificent, as by represented in the because of the picture hanging in the by , Salone del Camino. which had already The villa is deteriorated by that complemented by both time, since they had a formal garden, facing been dry-frescoed in a the southern façade, space exposed to the and a large landscaped open air. The current park that surrounds it grotesques on the on all sides. The 48 The Villa Medici in Fiesole 49

Domenico Ghirlandaio, The Villa Medici Michelozzo, with the suburban Dormitio Virginis , , confirming instead the villaof Alberti (in the 1586-90. Fi. S. Maria in Fiesole Novella, C. Tornabuoni, hypothesis that sees , detail. he Villa Medici Leon Battista Alberti 1452, it indicates how of Fiesole was in a central role in the the Renaissance Villa Tbuilt between conception of Villa should be). Villa 1451 and 1457 for Medici alongside Medici in Fiesole is Giovanni, the son of the first example Cosimo the Elder and and , where the idea of a precursor of his with Giovanni country residence nephew, Lorenzo the actively involved in dissolves from the Magnificent. all the implementation radical concept of The latest studies have phases. The Villa fortress and castle The Villa Medici in Fiesole, now re-evaluated shows great evolving into an the garden to the east. Vasari’s attribution to similarities stand-alone form. 50 The Villa Medici in Fiesole 51

Aerial view of the villa. Its privileged music and geometry. Magnificent inherited loggia, thus adding a relationship with the Just as the design of the villa in 1469, and long volume to the landscape through the the Villa follows used it as a summer upper floor. new use of loggias regular reprises of residence; here The original entrance and terraces openes geometrical rules, so gathered Humanists to the villa was the doors to future the garden was such as Pico della through the garden to Renaissance Villas. conceived as Mirandola, Marsilio the West, from Via The building no originating from a Ficino, and Poliziano, Vecchia Fiesolana. longer has medieval- triple overturning of who often sang his The garden to the east style decorations, but the plan itself. praises of the place. was for the private View of the main terraces. rather introduces The Villa Medici in The Villa, precisely a simplicity of the Fiesole, the first during one of the structure that accords example of a gatherings of the economy, necessity Renaissance Villa, Platonic Academy, and beauty based then became a “Muse” was the theatre of the on the harmony of for numerous other Pazzi family geometries. residences, not only conspiracy that The Villa is Florentine, which, aspired to kill Lorenzo proportioned in all its starting from the late the parts, both insidoor 1400s, would discover Magnificent,without and outside, in inspiration and succeeding. accordance with creative and In 1671, Del Sera Alberti's concepts that innovatory ideas in it. family transformed lead back to numbers, Lorenzo the the West terrace into a 52 The Villa Medici in Fiesole 53

Detail of the geometric enjoyment of the design of the lower villa’s guests; the terracing. lower terracing held the ‘ Horto ’ with herbs for domestic use. Here it was first introduced the cultivation of citrus fruits from the south of Italy first began here, which would go on to become the architect Paoletti to completed the Sibil Cutting Origo The garden to the east. pride of all Medici make the eastern driveway in 1870 after commissioned gardens. entrance through a the construction of in 1915 Geoffrey Scott A small wood above driveway, and expand the new thoroughfare and Cecil Pinsent the the avenue contained the upper garden with between Florence and last works on the ‘ragne da tordi ’ − nets the inclusion of the Fiesole. gardens which were to capture birds. lemon house and the This gave new done in a Neo- In 1670, Lady Orford . importance to the Renaissance taste. The garden to the west. commissioned the Sir WilliamSpence upper garden Lady Donata Mazzini View from the upper garden. 54 The Medici Villa of Castello 55

Giusto Utens, Villa of The Medici Castello , 1599-1602. Florence, Museum of the Villa of Castello Medici Villa of Petraia. he Medici Villa of Castello Tbecame part of the assets owned by the Medici family in 1477, when Giovanni and Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, cousins of Lorenzo the Magnificent, bought it from the Della Stufa family. It was in this Villa that Marsilio Ficino educated the young Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco to the vision of a Humanist world, and it was for this villa that Botticelli painted The Birth of and

Spring , later transferred to the . Like most of the villas in the Florentine countryside, the presents a secular stratification, the outcome of a series of interventions of renewal and addition that took place starting from the oldest nucleus, which was a defensive tower from the 12 th century. Situated along the directrix of an ancient Roman aqueduct that supplied the city of Florence with water from the Marina th valley, in the 14 Aerial view of the Villa and century, the villa was Garden. 56 The Medici Villa of Castello 57

The perception of order of symmetry and regularity as intrinsic architectural values was so deep that certain views of the Villa (for example those of Utens and Zocchi, even if made 150 years apart) set themselves the task of regularizing the appearance, thereby subordinating reality to ideality. At the of the 17 th century, the Villa had become the focal point of the elaborate system to organize the territory, which allowed the Medici to View of the garden of the nicknamed “ Il Vivaio ” ancient medieval but those who left the control the natural Villa of Castello. (“The Nursery”) house in the Villa (on deepest trace of their elements, direct the because of the large the right-hand side work were economiclife, and basins located near when looking at the unquestionably govern the State. After the current entrance main façade). This fact Niccolò Pericoli, many vicissitudes, the plaza. The explains the dubbed “ Il Tribolo ”, complex was acquired renovations and misalignment of the Giorgio Vasari, and in 1919 by the Italian extensions carried out garden and the Villa, . State. Today the Villa by the Medici dating which lie along two Providing a is the seat of the from 1477, aimed to different axes of homogeneous aspect prestigious Accademia incorporate annexes symmetry. In the 16 th to the renovated della Crusca. Many of to the west of the century, under the complex and Grotto of the animals. its rooms are of special authority of Cosimo I, blending the different merit, and among some impressive works extensions into a these is the Sala della of transformation were coherent design was Pale, where the undertaken that were certainly a far from personal coats of arms completed under easy undertaking, of the Academy’s 15 th - Ferdinando I at the above all because the 18 th century members beginning of the 17 th interventions had to are displayed. century. cope with the many As a result of these constraints imposed Hosea Scelza . interventions, the by the pre-existing ancient 15 th century structures and the house was more than context. The drawings doubled in size, that have come down reaching a ground to us show the plan not too dissimilar architects using all to the current one. the tricks up their Many architects and sleeve to conceal the artists worked on the lack of symmetry and Villa in this period, the misalignments. 58 The Castello Villa’s Garden 59

The Castello above, to feed the now a copy, made by Villa’s Garden numerous fountains. Tribolo and Pierino As for the inventor of da Vinci and crowned he Garden of the garden’s elaborate by a bronze group by the Villa of iconographic scheme, Bartolomeo TCastello can which was intended Ammannati; the rightfully claim to be to exalt the original can be a prototype of the illuminated dominion admired in a room of 16 th -century Italian over Tuscany of the the nearby Villa La garden. It was created new Medici Petraia, which also as a significant part government as well ’s of an overall as their peacekeeping Venus/Florence , programme to role, some scholars which at one time renovate and now opt for was positioned to embellish the Villa of Benedetto Varchi, complete the so- Castello, inherited others for Luca called of the from the mother Martini or Niccolò Labyrinth again from Maria Salviati, grand- Martelli. the Castello villa, but daughter of Lorenzo The key points of the transferred to Petraia the Magnificent. The rich and elaborate at the time of the general project was decorative project Lorraine) and the entrusted to Niccolò created by Tribolo, extraordinary Grotto Pericoli, known as “ Il together with Pierino of the Animals or the Tribolo ”, who was da Vinci and other Flood . Among the also responsible for artists, are – along most famous in constructing the the central axis of the Europe, designed by imposing hydraulic Italian garden behind Tribolo himself and system that the villa – the originally enlivened The grand lemon house, conducted water from fountain of Hercules by spectacular water detail. the Castellina spring and Antaeus , (a work, features, this is a perfect simulation of a natural cave that gathers sculptural groups of animals in polychrome marble, and plays a key symbolic role in the complex allegory created in this garden for Cosimo and his successors. In the “wilderness” of Holm- Apennine or January , Fountain of Hercules and oaks, oaks, and a bronze by Antaeus. cypresses that Ammannati. The develops in the upper garden boasts an area – transformed exceptional collection into an English-style of citrus fruits, park in the first half consisting of about of the 19 th century – five hundred plants of stands the great basin historical-botanical created by Vasari and importance, unique in decorated by the the world and 60 The Castello Villa’s Garden 61

Villa of Castello Garden The first mention of the cultivation of citrus fruit at the Castello villa dates to 1544, when Cosimo I de’ Medici ordered sweet lemons to be planted. Since then the collection has continued to be enriched with new plants until reaching, in 1847, the number of six hundred specimens in vases, in addition to a considerable number of espalier-grown citrus, predominantly consisting of citron and bitter oranges. Nowadays, the collection boasts around 1,000 specimens of assorted sizes and ages. The preciousness of the species cultivated, not a few descended from Medicean varieties, the ‘bizarreness’ and monstrosity of its fruits, the secular trunks of some of them, the beauty of certain vessels still adorned with the Medici coat of arms, make it unique of its kind: one of the most important and rarest collections of potted citrus trees in Europe.

Fountain of the Apennine . descendants of the period. There is also a ancient Medicean garden of medicinal varieties with herbs which is a real specimens from a jewel with the Stufa period stretching over dei Mugherini , a three hundred years. greenhouse that The plants are preserves the rare meticulously cared Indian jasmine from for using ancient Goa called cultivation “mugherino ” in On the facing page: techniques, are on Italian, which gives Citrus Medica “Digitata” show in the open the name to the commonly know as from April to October, greenhouse of the so- Buddha's Hand. and are stored in the called “ Ortaccio ” or secret garden. View of the inside of the historical lemon lemon house. houses in the winter Marco Mozzo 62 The Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano 63

Giusto Utens, Villa of The Medici Poggio a Caiano , 1599- 1603. Florence, Museum of Villa of Poggio the Medici Villa of Petraia. a Caiano his villa was designed by TGiuliano da Sangallo for Lorenzo the Magnificent, as an example of a work of that fused the lesson of the classics (especially those of ) with characteristic elements of rural Tuscan architecture. Highly evident is the lesson of Leon

Aerial view of the Medici Battista Alberti, both Villa of Poggio a Caiano, the in the choice of the lemon house and the park. site where the Villa

The construction of the Villa of Poggio a Caiano and its grandiose “Salone d i Leone X” according to Giorgio Vasari Meanwhile Giuliano had come into even greater credit with Lorenzo [the Maginificent]; and the latter, who was intending to build a palace at Poggio a Caiano, a place between Florence and Pistoia, and had caused several models to be made for it […] , commissioned Giuliano, also, to make one of the sort of building that he proposed to erect. And Giuliano made it so completely different in form from the others, and so much to Lorenzo’s fancy, that he began straightway to have it carried into execution, as the best of all the models; on which account he took Giuliano even more into his favour, and ever afterwards gave him an allowance. After this, Giuliano wishing to make a vaulted ceiling for the great hall of that palace in the manner that we call barrel-shaped, Lorenzo could not believe, on account of the great space, that it could be raised. Whereupon Giuliano, who was building a house for himself in Florence, made a ceiling for his hall according to the design of the other, in order to convince the mind of that Magnificent Prince; and Lorenzo therefore gave orders for the ceiling at the Poggio to be carried out, which was successfully done. Giorgio Vasari , The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, from to our own times (1568); extract from the Life of Giuliano and Antonio da San Gallo, Florentine architects 64 The Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano 65

Aerial view of the Medici sits, and in the the façade and the substantial two-tone tradition. Hall of the Still Life Villa of Poggio a Caiano. search for symmetry portico are classical: and blue glazed The building has not Museum. and harmony in its the front carries at terracotta introduces only seen the proportions. Sitting the top the Medici an element of passage of the Living room of the th on top of the knoll coat of arms above continuity with 15 Medici family: in the apartments and raised by the the friezes, whose century Tuscan 19 th century it was of Elisa Baciocchi. base of the portico which accentuates its prominence, the villa overlooking the landscape stands as a symbol of mankind’s work of bringing order to nature. Construction began in the middle of the 9th decade of the 15 th century and continued unabated until the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1492. Work resumed in 1512 under the guidance of his son Giovanni, who had become Pope Leo X in the meantime, and ended towards the end of the second decade of the 16 th century. The decoration of 66 The Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano 67

The dining hall. the residence of Elisa of his country intact one of the most Medici collections. The Salone di Leone X . Baciocchi, the sister residences. important cycles of Finally, outside the of The interior carries Tuscan frescoes from Villa extend the Bonaparte, and in the testimonies of the 16 th century, garden and the park, same century, during special interest left realized by Pontormo, dominated, as well as the period when by important , by the bulk of the Florence was capital personalities who , and villa, by the grand of the Kingdom of lived in the villa. . On 19 th century lemon Italy (1865-1871), it Particularly striking the second floor, in house, at the foot of was renovated by is the piano nobile , the Still Life Museum, which rise the Vittorio Emanuele II the majestic Sala di are exhibited around monumental stables of Savoy who Leone X, which 200 paintings from the 16 th century. The billiards room. earmarked it as one conserves almost belonging to the Lorenzo Sbaraglio Ground floor entrance. 68 The Medici Villa La Petraia 69

Giusto Utens, Villa of The Medici Petraia , 1599-1603. Florence, Museum of the Villa La Petraia Medici Villa La Petraia. his Villa, with its unmistakable Ttower, rises in a dominant position on the slopes of Monte Morello leading down towards the plain with a splendid view over Florence. The south side overlooks the formal garden that develops over three levels of terrace, exploiting the gradient of the site: one with parterres, one with a nursery, and one with figurines. Despite many alterations, especially in the 18 th and 19 th centuries, the garden still conserves the geometric spatiality of the original 16 th century villa, together with The Lunettes of Giusto Utens (1599-1603) structure, which it the other thirteen of owes to Ferdinando I the series, all The cycle of lunettes painted by the Flemish artist Giusto Utens between commissioned by de’ Medici, as 1599 and 1603 and commissioned by “His Serene Highness” Ferdinando I Ferdinando I for the documented in the de’ Medici to decorate the main hall of the Villa of Artimino, nicknamed Villa of Artimino. by Giusto “La Ferdinanda ”, was intended to exalt the magnificence of the Grand- View of the Villa. Instead, to the north Utens, today ducal crown. preserved inside the extends for many hectares the romantic Of the seventeen views that were originally made, only fourteen have park built in the 19 th survived to show us the main properties of the dynastic legacy, century by order of strongholds of the sovereignty of Medici power in Tuscany. Leopold II of The individual Grand-ducal properties are represented in bird’s-eye views, Lorraine. Just before immortalized in a rather ‘summary’ and homogeneous form. the middle of the 16 th Drawing inspiration from the ancient pictorial tradition of landscape century, the villa and painting and from cartography, the artist portrays the manor at the its appurtenances centre of every lunette – the actual villa often described as a “palace”, became the property surrounded by its appurtenances: storerooms, flower gardens, ploughed of Cosimo I, who was fields, crops, and fountains. to start the first Through this exceptional figurative document, today it is possible to modernization works grasp the innovative system of managing and organizing the territory in and subsequently bequeath it to his son its most flexible and consistent form, a veritable microcosm around and successor in the which the life of the Florentine Court revolved, well-established by the Grand Duchy, after 16 th century, that was to become a reference model for other royal the death of his residences in Italy and abroad over the centuries to come. 70 The Medici Villa La Petraia 71

Aereal view of the garden brother Francesco. Cristina of Lorraine, the extinction of the the king. This period Detail of the large basin in front of the Villa. The son, Ferdinando Ferdinando’s wife, the Medici dynasty, the saw some of the Nursery. I, undertook a full other desired by villa passed to the transformations that View of the Figurine restoration, Prince Don Lorenzo, Lorraine family, the involved both the Parterre with the Belvedere. transforming the Cristina and new Grand Dukes, layout of the interiors existing mediaeval Ferdinando’s son, while with the and the garden, and structure, probably datable to the second Unification of Italy, that basically reflect comparable to a quarter of the 17 th Petraia would become the current turreted castle, into century, created by one of the favourite appearance. The what would become Baldassarre residences of Vittorio ground-floor and the model of the Franceschini known Emanuele II and Rosa first-floor apartments Tuscan country villa. as “Volterrano”, and Vercellana, “ La Bela were revamped to View of the Nursery On the ground floor a depicting the pomp Rosin ”, the accommodate the Parterre with the stairway courtyard was and splendour of the morganatic wife to new ruler and the to the Figurine Parterre. created, as always at Medici. In the Savoy the heart of the era, during the building, its celebrations for the overhanging western engagement of the and eastern loggias son of King Emanuele frescoed with two di Mirafiori to magnificent pictorial Blanche de Larderel, cycles: one 16 th - the courtyard was century referable to transformed into a Cosimo Daddi with ballroom with a glass scenes dedicated to and iron roof and the the exploits of closure of the loggias, Goffredo di Buglione, now open again. In an ancestor of the 18 th century, with 72 The Medici Villa La Petraia 73

View of the inner frescoed “Countess of which takes its name preserved in a room courtyard. Mirafiori”; here are from the bronze inside the villa. In a room on the ground The new chapel. furnishings and sculpture of vestments from pre- Venus/Florence , a floor is also on show unification masterpiece by the splendid bronze that ended in the Giambologna, placed group of Ammannati estate of the crown. In on top of the Fountain portraying Hercules addition, the so-called of the Labyrinth, and Antaeus that once On the facing page: “Piano della Figurina” transferred here from crowned the fountain The red room. was created in the the garden of Villa di in the Castello garden, today replaced by a The games room. garden, a terrace on Castello in 1788 at the the same level as the time of Peter Leopold copy. The blue living room. villa to the east, of Lorraine, and today Marco Mozzo 74 The Boboli Gardens 75

Giusto Utens, Boboli The Boboli Garden s, 1599-1603. Florence, Museum of the Gardens Medici Villa of Petraia. his is a historical park, Topen to the public, belonging to the State Property Office and administered by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (MiBACT). Born as a Medici garden connected to the grand-ducal residence of the Pitti Palace, it is immediately adjacent to the Belvedere Fort, a strategic military , which, from the top of the hill of the same name, could watch over the city. The garden, Cypress Lane. safety of the which welcomes over On the facing page: sovereign and his a million visitors View of the garden from family and the every year, is one of . southern side of the the most important 76 The Boboli Gardens 77

Bernardo examples of an old from which leave Buontalenti Italian-style formal paths leading to garden in the world, ponds and (also known as focusing on arboreal fountains, mazes, “Timante ” or Bernardo geometries and the nymphaea, temples, delle Girandole, 1531- cunning insertion of and caves. A rare 1608) was one of the statues, caves, and example of Rococo major architects and monumental scenic style in Tuscany is interpreters of the basins. It can be the Kaffeehaus degree of luxury that the defined as a true building, desired by Medici era court had outdoor museum, as the Lorraine, from made their own. A much for its where we can sculptor, painter, architectural- an amazing view miniaturist, landscape setting, its over Florence and scenographer and collection of the valley. Of inventor of machines, a , but also foremost civil and military its ancient botanical importance inside architect, Buontalenti collection, which the garden is the mainly lent his cultured boasts species and statuary, which inventiveness and varieties that would mixes technical acumen to otherwise have been archaeological Francesco I de’ Medici dispersed. The finds of exceptional (1541-1587), producing gardens were built quality with plastic on his request, in the between the 16 th and works coeval to the same years, both the 19 th centuries, by ruling dynasties, large grotto of Boboli will of the Medici always blended (1583-1593 approx.) and family, and were carefully into the the extended by design of the galleries (1585-1586), a subsequent ruling greenery. An ample precious jewel-box to dynasties: the collection of contain his collection of Lorraine and the modern and works of art. Formerly an Savoy. The flat part contemporary art associate of Vasari, he alone occupies an has distinguished ended his career with area of over 30 the period since the Ferdinando I (1549- hectares. The first monument has 1609) for whose late-Renaissance been managed by wedding with Cristina of nucleus, designed by the State. The Lorraine, he created Tribolo, which gardens, which scenes and costumes for included a vision of have a layout that the comedies and an urban farm filled vaguely recalls an interludes. with fruit plants, was elongated triangle, supplemented over are distinguished the years by new by steep gradients portions with around the hill different settings, between the palace aimed especially to and the Belvedere arouse the Fort, which uncoil astonishment of into a tongue visitors, thanks to pointing towards On the facing page: the opening of Porta Romana and Detail of the Fountain of additional the Villa of Poggio the Ocean. axes Imperiale. Among 78 The Boboli Gardens 79

the several architects responsible for the the 27 th of June with thirteen other who contributed to creation of the 2013, the Boboli Medicean treasures, influencing the image large grotto known Garden has been of which ten are of the garden and the as “Buontalenti”, part of the World located in the Palace, one who one of the Heritage List territory of the stands out is the masterpieces of recognized by Metropolitan City of Large grotto know as brilliant Bernardo European UNESCO as Florence. “Buontalenti”. Buontalenti, who was . From inviolable, together Bianca Maria Landi 80 The Medici Villa of Cerreto Guidi 81

View of the garden at The Medici stands this mighty the back. Villa of Cerreto Villa, built by wish of Duke Cosimo I de’ Guidi Medici as a hunting t the centre of residence (in view of Cerreto Guidi, its proximity to the Ain a dominant so-called “Barco position on a hill, Reale” game reserve),

and a strategic point the villa, built using Giuseppe Zocchi, View of of control over the materials from a the Villa of Cerreto Guidi , Florence 1757. surrounding territory, ruined castle above all of the belonging to the Padule di Fucecchio. Guidi Counts and the The construction of second circle of

Aerial view of the Medici Villa of Cerreto Guidi. 82 The Medici Villa of Cerreto Guidi 83

impressive, perfectly symmetrical, flights of stairs in brick and Gonfolina stone. Some openings, which once led to the stables below the large square, are aligned with the plasterwork of the villa’s façade, drawing the basement that serves to support the natural terrain, as a raising of the perspective plane, in keeping with a module adopted by Buontalenti in other buildings. The villa partially owes its fame to the tragic story of Isabella de’ Medici, Room decorated with who died at Cerreto landscape views from the during the 19 th century. The hall on the first floor. walls, was carried out, according to the available documents, between 1564 and 1566, when the building was cited as “again walled”. In 1566, the works were being directed by the architect Davide Fortini according to the evidence, previously Tribolo’s associate, succeeded later by Alfondo Parigi the Elder. Bernardo Buontalenti is credited with conceiving the stepped access ramps, known as “ ponti medicei ”, that constitute the villa’s prominent feature. There are four 84 The Medici Villa of Cerreto Guidi 85

Isabella de’ between 15 and 16 who turned it into a Medici Orsini July 1576. Isabella, museum and then (1542-1576) the favourite donated it to the daughter of Cosimo I Italian State in 1969, Isabella, the favourite and Eleonora of on the 18 th of June daughter of Cosimo I Toledo, in 1558, 1978, it was finally de’ Medici and married Duke Paolo opened to the public. Eleonora of Toledo and Giordano Orsini; The furnishings of the wife of Duke Polo according to an the villa were Giordano Orsini, died account for a long restored in a on 15 July 1576 in the time seen as anti- reference to Medici Villa of Cerreto Medici and fed by descriptions of the Guidi due to a severe Romantic literature, historical inventories kidney disease, as is she was strangled by (1667, 1705, 1728) evident from hired assassins on with the intention of documents in the Orsini the orders of a reproducing the Archives (, at the jealous husband. sophisticated, multi- Archivio Storico Recent studies have faceted taste of the Capitolino). shed more light on Medici collections. For centuries, according Isabella’s life, Alongside a to a slanderous version dispelling the legend substantial and supplied by anti-Medici of atrocities and significant core of propaganda and lawlessness; the portraits of the literature, Paolo cause of her death Medici – coming Giordano Orsini was was more likely a from the galleries of considered to be serious form of Florence – one which responsible for the dropsy, a fatal renal is a full-length death of Isabella while occlusion. portrait of Cosimo in recently rediscovered correspondence attests The Villa belonged to his coronation robes to a solid and Don Giovanni de’ as Grand Duke (1570) affectionate bond Medici, Don Pietro, and another a between the two and Don Lorenzo, portrait of Isabella spouses. In her stays at and became more of de’ Medici – there are the Cerreto villa, a residence around tapestries from the Isabella, a woman of 1671 when it passed Medici works brilliant intelligence to Cardinal Leopoldo integrated with a and refined culture, de’ Medici. In 1780, refined selection of loved to go hunting, as the Hapsburg- works from the we can read in a letter Lorraine left the villa written to Paolo and after various legacy (acquired by Giordano in August changes in the State in 1996) 1569: “ We are at ownership, it was comprising paintings Cerreto and shall be bestowed on the on wood and canvas, Historical Museum of In the triple-fornix Cabin for inland waterway Marquises Geddes da inlaid and painted Hunting and the porticoes and in the vessel, made in Florence in staying there for three th Filicaia, who chests, cabinets, suggestive spaces the first quarter of the 19 or four days according Territory, comprising century. to my Lord Duke, who is entrusted the painter sculptures in marble curious iconographic beneath the Medici well and sends his best Ruggero Focardi with and terracotta, testimonies, a hunting bridges are exhibited wishes (…) We go on frescoing the majolica, and lodge of the Lorraine Roman and beautiful hunts for decorations of the artefacts featuring period, and a weapons Mediaeval marbles, partridges and hare and ground-floor hall. semi-precious stones. collection, mainly the reminiscent of an the rest of the time we Purchased in 1966 by Since 2002, the villa kinds used for antiquarium . play at piquet.” Galliano Boldrini, has also housed the hunting and shooting. Cristina Gnoni 86 Palazzo Mediceo in Seravezza 87

Giusto Utens, Serravezza , Palazzo 1599-1603. Florence, Museum of the Medici Villa Mediceo in of Petraia. Seravezza he construction of the villa- Tpalace in Seravezza, which began in the first week of the month of May 1561, was part of Cosimo I’s desire to affirm his power and consolidate the borders of the State, while a more specific reason was the presence in Versilia of important marble deposits and iron and silver mines. Historical-artistic The lawn, the Villa and, criticism has in the background, the attributed the first Apuan Alps. project to and then to young Bernardo Buontalenti, even if the only person documented at the construction site, as clerk of works, was Fortini, the son-in-law of Tribolo. The Vezza stream and the By 1565, the building Medici villa. 88 Palazzo Mediceo in Seravezza 89

overall appearance resided there for comes from the extended periods lunette by Giusto after receiving in Utens, realized 1609, on the death of between 1599 and her husband 1601, in which can Ferdinando I, the be seen the other bequest of governing elements that still the Captaincy of mark the entire area Pietrasanta. After a spatially today: e.g. failed attempt by the the small chapel that Grand Duke Pietro flanks the villa and Leopoldo to sell the the stables. In the entire complex to the decades straddling Community of the 16 th and 17 th Seravezza, the Villa centuries, the was assigned to the building often hosted Magona company as representatives of the administrative offices Medici court who and the warehouse of were accustomed to an ironworks. In retiring to Seravezza 1835, the building during the summer. once again became a Among these was residence for the Cristina of Lorraine, grand-ducal family, who was fond of in particular, fishing, and who Leopoldo’s daughters. The entrance portal.

The façade overlooking the was finished, and lawn. the duke commissioned the sculptor Stoldo Lorenzi to make an epigraph in marble, that still exists today, to be affixed “above the door of the Casino of Seravezza to the vegetable garden”. From a description of 1568, we know that the lawn of the main front was closed by a dry wall, “with its marble gate facing southwards”, that at the back was an orchard, while along the Vezza stream, there was a fish farm. A first iconographic representation of the 90 Palazzo Mediceo in Seravezza 91

The inner courtyard with With the Unification Today, the Villa is the Traditions of contemporary art. the well. of Italy, ownership seat of the “Sirio Historical Versilia”. The stables, restored finally passed to the Giannini” library, the The piano nobile is at the beginning of State which, in 1864, “Municipal Historical reserved for this century, contain gave it to the Archive” and the important exhibitions the municipal theatre of “Museum of Labour of photography and and cinema. Seravezza. and Popular modern and Andrea Tenerini 92 The Garden of Pratolino 93

Giusto Utens, Pratolino , The Garden of 1599-1603. Florence, Museum of the Medici Villa Pratolino La Petraia. t was Francesco I de’ Medici who Ihad the villa and park of Pratolino built on land he purchased in 1568. The first layout of the park, which covered 20 hectares, featured a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis with the villa at the point of intersection. Walls and terraces joined the part situated to the north known as of the ‘Ancients’ with that to the south dedicated to The ancient Medici the ‘Moderns’. The Paggeria used as a noble residence by the Demidoff longitudinal axis was family in 1872. marked at the top by 94 The Garden of Pratolino 95

a Jupiter sculpted by water organs, Heron- Bandinelli, the style machines “Apennine Colossus” simulating birdsong, of Giambologna, the water features, and villa, and an avenue many theatres of of fountain jets that automatons moved by ended in a basin with the power of water a washing trough in that made up a marble. In the upper fantastic complex. Its park were, in addition , with their to Jupiter and the fountains and water Colossus , a large features, were maze, a chapel, and described countless the fountains of times by illustrious Perseus and travellers, designed Aesculapius . In the and engraved by park of the ‘Moderns’ famous artists, and to the left of the investigated by avenue of fountain hydraulic engineers jets, emerge the eager to imitate them. ’s cave and the The diffusion of the basin of “ La engravings of Stefano Maschera ”, while on della Bella with the the right there was most evocative views once a large aviary, of the park the fountain known contributed in no as “ Dell’Ammannati ” small way to and Mount Parnassus. consecrating Pratolino became Pratolino as a The Apennine Colossus famous for the European model of sculpted by Giambologna in the setting designed by wonder that visitors the art of making Joseph Frietsch. felt in admiring the gardens. Its 96 The Garden of Pratolino 97

contraptions, fountains, and water features were imitated in the gardens of Hellbrunn in Salzburg, the Hortus Palatinus of Heidelberg, and -Germain-en- Laye near Paris. At the end of the 17 th century, Pratolino enjoyed a second moment of splendour thanks to the Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici, who set up a theatre on the villa’s second floor. For him, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti with George Frideric Handel composed that were staged by Jacopo Chiavistelli and Ferdinando . After the passage of Tuscany from the Medici to the Hapsburg-Lorraine and with the arrival in Florence of Pietro Leopoldo, the Pratolino villa was shut down and it was thought to dispose of it to avoid the maintenance costs. Only in 1814 did reorganization of the park begin, entrusted to the Bohemian gardener Joseph to a design by Luigi de Colossus. Pratolino City of Florence. From Fritsch. The new Cambray Digny, but the remained the that date work began landscaping featured death of Ferdinando III residence of the to restore the park, large lawns, in 1824, disallowed Demidoffs until 1955, both as regards its meandering avenues, this. In 1872, Pratolino and then passed to buildings and woods, and was ceded by Paolo artefacts, and its irregularly-shaped Hapsburg-Lorraine Karageorgevich, to the faunistic-vegetational Jupiter sculpted by Angiolo lakes. The villa was and environmental Andreini to a sketch by princes, Demidoff, who company SOGENE, Giannetto Mannucci in demolished and was restored the surviving and, finally in 1981, features. 1937. supposed to be rebuilt buildings and the to the Metropolitan Rossana Biagioni 98 The Medici Villa La Magia 99

The fountain in the parterre The Medici garden. Villa La Magia ince January 2000, the Sarchitectural complex of Villa La Magia has been owned by the Municipality of Quarrata. The original foundation of Villa La Magia should be traced back to 1320, the year when Vinciguerra of the La Magia seen from above . Panciatichi family 100 The Medici Villa La Magia 101

enriched by farms Park, of which we The Spirit and had assumed a can find traces on of Place residential character, Montalbano, had a was bought by gate that faced the The Spirit of Place is an Francesco I of the La Magia estate. itinerary of Medici family who, The period of contemporary right at that time, maximum splendour environmental art that was pursuing his of the villa came at includes works inserted father’s plan of the end of the in the landscape to territorial expansion (1585-1587) when translate its genius loci . for the private Buontalenti drew up The collection is properties. Villa La a project to arranged in the Magia offered a restructure the villa historical garden, and vantage point on the and a plan to realize has been enriched over slopes of a lake. the years by works Montalbano that On the 27 th of May specially designed and strengthened the 1645, Pandolfo created for La Magia: dominion of the d’Ottavio Attavanti Micat in vertice by Florentine House. La obtained the consent Fabrizio Corneli, La Magia would of Ferdinando II de’ fabbrica della memoria e become part of the Medici to purchase Bruciaprofumi by Anne constellation of the La Magia farm, and Patrick Poirier, The southern façade of the commissioned the Panciatichi and villas that includes and it was precisely Ascolta il flauto di canna Villa and the parterre construction of the Cancellieri families. by Marco Bagnoli, garden staircase. those of Poggio a under the ownership The villa courtyard. first tower with a On 26 November Caiano and of the Attavanti Giardino Rovesciato by 1583, the property, Oratory of Santa defensive function for Artimino. In family that, at the Nagasawa, and and Burner by ongoing struggles which in the particular, the beginning of the 18 th Anthology Two by Anne and Patrick Poirier. between the meantime had been Medicean Royal century, the villa Maurizio Nannucci. underwent arguably From 2011, the the most substantial collection was joined by restoration in its a large fountain of history (the Daniel Buren, Muri interventions mostly Fontane a Tre Colori per concerned the un Esagono, located on monumental the lawns outside the staircase and the villa. In addition, the inner courtyard). In villa’s first floor holds a the 18 th century, permanent collection of construction began works by . 102 The Medici Villa La Magia 103

of the west and east lemon houses and, after the acquisition of the villa by the Amati Cellesi family, these same lemon houses were expanded, and new stables were built. The annexes of the Villa La Magia were also completed in this period. The villa remained the property of the Amati Cellesi family until the year 2000, when the Municipality of Quarrata purchased it. Currently the villa is open to the public (every , for groups with

reservation) and it is Carlo Antonio Arrighi Main possible to visit the staircase (1708-1710) and Giovanni Bagnoli historical parts (cycle Allegorical Figures fresco of frescoes, the (1710), vault of the historical garden and staircase. the picture gallery) and the collection of Pietrosanti Bambocci Leto with Diana and as contemporary Children fresco (1716), hall environmental art, of the piano nobile . “The Spirit of Place” (with works by Giovanni Bagnoli Rape of Fabrizio Corneli, fresco (1710), piano nobile vault of the Ricetto . Anne and Patrick Poirier, Nagasawa, Marco Bagnili, Maurizio Nannucci, and Daniel Buren). Claudia Cappellini 104 The Medici Villa of Artimino 105

On the facing page: The Medici me, Your Highness, Aereal view. Villa of that I have found a Spring”, wrote the Artimino Grand Duke to his acing the hills wife Cristina of and vineyards of Lorraine on the 19 th FMontalbano, in of January 1596. The a dominant position villa, born as a on a hill that had hunting lodge, was already completed in just four accommodated a years, and represented sacred area at the a link between the time of the Etruscans, family’s various the Medici Villa La estates, a place Ferdinanda was built dedicated to the in 1596 by order of Humanistic otium of Grand Duke arts and poetry. Ferdinando I de’ Ferdinando I de’ Medici, to a design by Medici, following the Bernardo Buontalenti. death of Francesco, “I have been today to renounced his View of the Villa. Artimino and believe cardinalate and 106 The Medici Villa of Artimino 107

Giuseppe Zocchi, View of sought to continue his his commissioning of caprice of Buontalenti and therefore needed Outdoor stairway. the Villa of Artimino, brother’s politics: it is the “Villa of the to bring some a lot of heat. In the Florence 1757. reported that he was Hundred Chimneys”, movement to the beginning, the Villa friendly and helpful, as La Ferdinanda is building’s austere had no garden but inclined to favour also called because of architecture, the Barco Reale was the sectors such as the numerous stacks chimneys also had Villa’s park, i.e. the agriculture, art, and that protrude from the their raison d’être : large game reserve for commerce. To him we top of the building heating. Like all the hunting that belonged owe some major and make it unique. Medici, Ferdinando I to the Medici family, works in addition to Not merely an artistic suffered from gout which in 1626 was closed and surrounded by a wall 32 miles long of which some ruins and a gate are still visible today. Something singular is the architectural appearance of the building, with a military tone that gives it austerity and majesty, alleviated by more elegant elements such as the sinuous entrance stairway in . Over the centuries, many illustrious names have passed between the walls of La Ferdinanda . For example, in 1608, View of the façade of the was Villa. 108 The Medici Villa of Artimino 109

invited here by On the facing page: Ferdinando I to The outdoor loggia. instruct Cosimo’s son “in Mathematics”. Also Leonardo da Vinci seems to have visited the property: and it is no coincidence if in the old kitchen of the Grand-ducal wine- cellars we can still admire the spit he designed. In the halls of the Villa, in the loggia, and in the delightful chapel, are well-preserved frescoes coeval to the structure, painted by Domenico Cresti known as “Passignano” and by . Claudia Cataldo The chapel. 110 The Medici Villa of Poggio Imperiale 111

The Medici Villa Pandolfini (in 1487), to In the 17 th century, the arrived in Florence in of Poggio the Salviati (in 1548) ancient Palazzo 1765, after a few days, and then to the Medici Baroncelli assumed the he visited the Villa and Imperiale (in 1565). traits of a palace, first chose it as his residence he first mention During the 16 th century, with Maria Maddalena alongside the official of the current the architectural design of (1622-1624), one of Palazzo Pitti. To TVilla del Poggio of the original who had it this end, he created an Imperiale dates to Baroncelli nucleus was significantly expanded open-ended 1427 when it was “appalagiato ” i.e., its and also changed its construction site, which entered in the appearance as a fortress name to Villa del lasted for sixteen years Florentine Land was transformed into a Poggio Imperiale, (1767-1783), and Register . palace, with a more dedicating it to the modelled the ancient At that time it was measured and compact future Grand Medici villa into a called Palazzo appearance on the Duchesses of Tuscany, renewed example of a Baroncelli from the Florence side and with then with Vittoria residence between the name of the family two courtyards and a Della Rovere, who city and nature. After who had built a “casa walled garden opening continued her mother- him, in the first half of da signore” – a towards the in-law’s work: the 19 th Century, the nobleman’s house , on countryside. Until expanding the Villa neoclassical traits of its the hill of Arcetri, with 1576, it was the with a new building architecture were added “due case da favourite villa of (1681-1683), and by Maria Luisa of lavoratore ” – two Isabella de’ Medici, the enriching it with Bourbon (1806-1807), workers’ houses refined daughter of precious art collections Elisa Buonaparte (1810- annexed, as was the Cosimo I, who chose to including the one she 1814) and Ferdinando custom for elegant pursue cultural had received in dowry III (1814-1823), the son country mansions at activities there and as the last heir of the of Leopold II, who The main front facing the the time. The property embellish it with . concluded the city. passed to the numerous works of art. When Leopold II architectural structure 112 The Medici Villa of Poggio Imperiale 113

The central courtyard. as we see it today. At the top and bottom. The wealth of architectural and artistic interventions on the Villa with which the Florentine Court distinguished itself in both the Medici and Lorraine eras, cannot overlook the protagonists of this evolution, many of whom were women, passionate patrons who, with the support of a pool of architects and artists conceived this monumental structure which is inextricably linked to the Poggio Imperiale farmstead whose large estates, woods and reserves stretched as The peristyle 1810-1823. far as the current 114 The Medici Villa of Poggio Imperiale 115

Court’s policy on image, The Chinese apartments, outside the city walls, 1780-1783. between the city and the countryside. Since 1865, the Villa del Poggio Imperiale has been the seat of the school, Educandato Statale della SS. Annunziata, which has distinguished itself as an important State education institute both nationally and internationally. Cinzia Palumbo

Hall of the biblical Porta Romana grafted heroines, joint work by onto the ridge of the various artists, first half of the seventeenth century. Medici family (Boboli Gardens, Pitti Palace, the Uffizi, ) linked to Florence itself. The Villa To the right: Hall of the Seasons, del Poggio Imperiale Giuseppe Maria Terreni, thus became an ideal 1776-1777 spatial projection of the 116 Information 117

Information

The Medici Villa The Medici Villa The Medici Villa The Villa Medici The Castello Villa’s of Cafaggiolo of Trebbio of Careggi in Fiesole Garden Via Nazionale, 16 at Viale Gaetano Visitors’ entrance: Via Castello, 47 Trebbio (Florence) Pieraccini, 17 Via , 2 · Castello (Florence) (Florence) Florence Fiesole (Florence) Tel. +39 055 452691 Tel. +39 055 8479396 The Trebbio Castle can Tel. +39 055 212245 annamarchimazzini@g pm-tos.giardinocastello be visited from April to mail.com @beniculturali.i t The villa is currently October by phoning The villa is currently www.villamedicifiesole.it undergoing restoration. +39 339 302 9697 for undergoing restoration. Free admission. groups with fewer than The garden can be Opening times are 20 and no more than visited only by available online at: 30 people. appointment (the Villa www.polomusealetoscana. www.trebbiomedicicastle is closed to visitors). beniculturali.it .com Monday-Friday 9.00am-1.00pm.

The Medici Villa The Medici Villa The Boboli The Medici Villa Palazzo Mediceo in The Garden of of Poggio a Caiano of Petraia Gardens of Cerreto Guidi Seravezza Pratolino Piazza de’ Medici, 14 Via della Petraia, 40 Piazza Pitti, 1 Via dei Ponti Medicei, 7 Viale Leonetto Amadei, Via Fiorentina, 276 Poggio a Caiano () Castello (Florence) Florence Cerreto Guidi (Florence) 230 · Seravezza (Lucca) Pratolino · Tel. +39 055 877012 Tel. +39 055 452691 Tel. +39 055 294883 pm-tos.villa.mediceace Tel. +39 0584 757443 / (Florence) villapoggioacaiano@beni pm-tos.villapetraia rretoguidi@benicultura Fax +39 0584 758161 Tel. +39 055 4080741 culturali.it @beniculturali.i t li.it [email protected] Tel. +39 0571 55707 Free admission. Free admission. Free admission. Free admission. Free admission. Opening times are Opening times are Opening times are Free admission. Opening times are Opening times are available online at: available online at: available online at: Opening times are available online at: available online at: www.polomusealetoscana.b www.polomusealetoscan www.uffizi.it/giardino- available online at: www.palazzomediceo.it www.cittametropolitana.f eniculturali.it a.beniculturali.it boboli www.polomusealetoscan i.it/parco-mediceo-di- a.beniculturali.it pratolino 118 Information 119

Index

The Medici Villa The Medici Villa The Medici Villa of UNESCO 3 La Magia of Artimino Poggio Imperiale 2013 Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany 6 Via Vecchia Fiorentina · Viale Papa Giovanni Piazzale del Poggio first section, 63 XXIII, 1 · Artimino Imperiale · Florence Introduction 12 Quarrata (Pistoia) () @poggioimperiale.gov.it Tel. +39 0573 774500 Tel. +39 055 875141 Tel. +39 055 226171 The Medici Villa of Cafaggiolo 30 [email protected] [email protected] · Since the Villa is the The Medici Villa of Trebbio 36 Free admission. Free admission seat of the girls’ school Opening times are opening times: 7 days a Educandato Statale The Medici Villa of Careggi 42 available online at: week, from 9am to 7pm SS. Annunziata, it is not www.villalamagia.com Visits to the villa upon open to the public but it The Villa Medici in Fiesole 48 prior booking (based on is currently possible to availability) have a guided tour of The Medici Villa of Castello 54 www.artimino.com the museum area of the complex upon prior The Castello Villa’s Garden 58 booking The Medici Villa of Caiano 62 Free admission. Opening times are The Medici Villa La Petraia 68 available online at: www.poggio- The Boboli Gardens 74 imperiale.gov.it The Medici Villa of Cerreto Guidi 80

Palazzo Mediceo in Seravezza 86

The Garden of Pratolino 92

The Medici Villa La Magia 98

The Medici Villa of Artimino 104

The Medici Villa of Poggio Imperiale 110

Information 116 120

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