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Villa La Pescigola is in the northwestern part of Tuscany, the Lunigiana, on the border with Liguria.
The villa, traditionally linked to various families of the Tuscan aristocracy, has an ancient history of more than six hundred years; today, we can still admire the springs and the fish ponds that give the place its name, as well as part of the avenues and several original statues.

Its original beauty, painstakingly preserved over time, was celebrated by the writer Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti, who, in his travel accounts (published in Florence in 1779), describes this villa as follows: “The countryside around Fivizzano is cultivated with great care and it looks delightful, with several Villas of the main Families on the planet, among which I knew there was a very beautiful and grandiose one, in a place called Pescigola. It is adorned with a garden, citrus fruits, springs, fishponds, a “selvatico”, a labyrinth, covered walkways, aviaries, and a third of a mile-long avenue leading to the entrance decorated with statues. For this reason, this Villa doesn’t simply compete with some others in Lunigiana, but it can be the envy of many people from Lucca and Florence.”

THE VILLA AND THE GARDEN

The villa has a horseshoe shape, with a large internal courtyard connected to the small “Oratory of the Guardian Angel”.
The Italian garden develops along the terraces and the slope in front of the Villa, dominated by huge Atlantic cedars and featuring over 150.000 narcissi of all species, types and colours in the spring.
Since 2005, every year the Villa hosts the colourful “Narcissus Festival” between the end of March and the beginning of May, with the flowering of 400 varieties of daffodils and tulips arranged both in XVIII century broderies on the terraces of the Italian garden, or in coloured waves in the meadows, thus conjuring the image of an English Romantic park.

In the following months, visitors can enjoy camellias, peonies, rhododendrons, ancient roses and lavender which are used for perfumes, creams and essential oils prepared in the villa.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)