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Villa Borromeo was built by the Borromeo Counts in 1400, as a country abode. In 1704, the villa passed into the hands of a famous family from Florence, the Capponis. During the XX century, there were various changes of ownership until, in the 1950s, it was eventually transformed into a restaurant.

The building shows a XV century architecture layout, with two lateral bodies joined by a stone staircase leading to a large terrace: the central facade opens on it, featuring a three-arched portico.

From the vestibule immediately behind the portico, there’s the access to the ballroom with a ceiling sail: beyond the latter, there is a large panoramic terrace on the rear side of the villa, overlooking the beautiful Val di Pesa. From the ballroom, another room with a ceiling decorated as a gazebo can be reached. The adjoining room is, in turn, decorated with a large trompe-l’oeil depicting an ideal landscape with blue-green tones, and featuring a remarkable depth effect.
On the lower floor, there’s the cross-vaulted armoury, while a long corridor decorated with paintings leads to the family chapel.

What remains of an Italian garden extends in front of the villa, with hints of a boxwood parterre and citrus groves.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)