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Located on the hills of Castello, in a panoramic position overlooking the city of Florence, this villa is considered one of the most beautiful of the Medici period. It was built on an ancient fortified building (its large tower still remains) and enlarged towards the end of the XVI century.
Over time, it was owned by several noble families, including those of the Brunelleschi, the Strozzi, and finally the Medici.

The villa is surrounded by lush vegetation and gardens arranged into different areas. In front of the main building, in a panoramic position overlooking the city, there are the formal gardens, while at the back the large English park was created.
The formal gardens are divided over three levels of the uneven slope of the hill. The highest terrace, located on the ground floor of the villa, consists of two large gardens: the one to the east is called “Prato della Figurina” and includes the Fiorenza fountain which used to feature the statue of Venus by Giambologna. On both sides of the fountain, in 1872 large symmetrical aviaries were installed but later destroyed.
The small viewpoint, also called “Reposoir” in the past, is still well preserved.

To the west, there’s “Piano di Ponente” or “Prato dei Castagni” garden, now deprived of the large trees that gave it its name (“Castagni” – “Chestnut trees”), replaced by cedars (Cedrus spp.).
The second garden, called “Piano del Vivaio”, located on the mid-level, can be reached via a two-flight staircase, decorated with a fountain with a mask in the centre. It houses a greenhouse-tepidarium and two large flower beds, the one on the left planted with bulbous plants.

The third garden is located on the lower level: it consists of an Italian-style parterre of box hedges (Buxus sempervirens). The fountain in the centre is an XVIII century addition surmounted by a bronze statue of Neptune.

The vegetation of the remaining part of the garden is dominated by evergreen species and conifers: holm oaks (Quercus ilex), cypresses (Cupressus spp. ), red oaks (Quercus rubra), ashes (Fraxinus ornus), downy oaks (Quercus pubescens), and several varieties of pine (Pinus spp.).
In the park many migratory birds usually rest during their migrations, therefore it has been acknowledged as a LIPU wildlife oasis since 2003.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)