Medici Villas and Gardens

Due to time constraints, we only managed to visit the Boboli Gardens. But it was really worth it. Compared to busy Florence, there were far fewer visitors. The garden is located in a hilly terrain, the garden has a number of ancient statues and several buildings. From the peaks there is a beautiful view of Florence and the surrounding area. Although it is tempting to visit only the part above the Pitti Palace, it is worth going through the whole garden. We spent 3 hours in the garden and we liked it more than overcrowded Florence. At the end, you can go to the cafe in the Pitti Palace, where they had excellent desserts.

Visited interior of 4 villas in one day on Sunday in November 2019. This could only be done with advance planning, pre-booking and using rented car as follows.

Villa di Poggio a Caiano – this one has regular opening hours, it opens at 08:30 and there is free accompanied tour each hour. Villa has extraordinary interior, including original frescos by Andrea del Sarto in the central hall on the first floor. There is little to add to the previous reviews. 
 
Villa Artiminio (Ferdinanda) – this is private property now, which includes winery, hotel and restaurant. There are occasionally guided visits and we booked one in advance for 11:30 for 12 euro. Villas was built in 1596 as a hunting lodge. It has a lot of chimneys on the roof in order to heat the villa during winter times and is sometimes called villa of hundred chimneys. Unfortunately, in 1950th all the interior, furniture and decorations were sold by the private owner at that time through auctions and only certain pieces were purchased back afterwards. However, there are a number of survived beautiful frescos by Passignano, including entrance hall (pictured), internal chapel and small bathroom. External staircase was only completed in 1930 using original designs of the architect Buontalenti. There is also storage of wine on the ground floor and even secret underground tunnel to be used by the Medicis in case of danger. After the tour we acquired excellent Grumarello and Rugiolino wine from the local winery.
 
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I have not yet been prioritizing visits to the WH sites when I last was in Tuscany, so my familiarity with this serial property is limited to Boboli Gardens. Even that is due in large part to my regular visits to Florence in the first decade of this century. With all that the city has to offer, Boboli Gardens do not exactly break onto the A-list of Florentine attractions. I only went to see them on my fourth or fifth visit to town. At the height of the season, in early August, this fairly centrally located attraction still gets just a fracture of the visitors found elsewhere in Florence.

The gardens are large, well-maintained, full of statuary, and with a few notable features, such as the grottoes, the amphitheatre, or the Neptune Fountain. As they are laid out on a steep hill, they offer various elevated viewpoints onto the city. A person who have seen many formal gardens around the world may find Boboli Gardens a bit dull, although objectively they are clearly a remarkable specimen of the gardening art.

Interestingly enough, Palazzo Pitti is seemingly not considered part of the WH site but is shown within the boundaries of the property on the official map attached to the entry on the UNESCO website. It offers a couple of impressive spaces and a couple of limited-interest expositions, so you can safely skip it.

When I am next in or around Florence, I will prioritize seeing a couple …

In November 2017, I managed to visit all the 14 locations of this WHS: twelve villas and two gardens. Only some of the villas have regular opening hours, a few others are accessible under certain conditions (eg a hotel or a winery) or by prior arrangement. When you travel by car, all locations are easily accessible, public transport seems to be quite time-consuming for the remote sites. However, the best sites are in or around Florence: the Villa della Petraia, the garden of the Villa di Castello and the Giardino di Boboli provide a good impression of this WHS. If you want to visit more, I would recommend Villa di Poggio a Caiano and (to a lesser extent) Giardino di Pratolino and Villa di Cerreto Guidi.

North of Florence:

Villa di Cafaggiolo: not open to the public; 30 km north of Florence, currently under scaffolding.
Villa del Trebbio: no regular opening times; on a bumpy dirt road not far from Villa di Cafaggiolo. The villa is hidden behind walls and high trees. Today it is owned by a wine and olive oil producer, so a visit by special appointment may be possible.
Giardino di Pratolino: regular opening times; 15 km north of Florence. The original Medici villa was demolished. The park is a landscape garden with several fishponds, statues, aquaducts. Most impressive is the ‘Colosso dell’Appeninno’ (photo), but it was also the only pond filled with water. The poor condition of the empty pools and …

The Medici Villas and Gardens comprise a serial nomination of 12 villas and 2 gardens in Tuscany. These are the legacy of the extensive arts patronage of the wealthy and powerful De’ Medici family. The constructions date from the 15th to 17th centuries and reflect the contemporary trend among the Florentine wealthy to live in the countryside in harmony with nature.

While I was staying in Florence for a week on a busy schedule, I used a few free hours to get a feel for this WHS. I wanted to visit a spot accessible by public transport, not too far from the center of Florence and with positive recommendations. The Villa di Castello seemed to fit the bill perfectly. It lies on the outskirts of Florence (near the airport), and can be reached by a 10-minute train ride followed by a stroll of the same length.

The Villa di Castello was the country residence of Cosimo I de' Medici. He had lived there as a child, and decided to turn the villa into an ambitious project when he came to power as Grand Duke of Tuscany. The villa was to be adorned with masterpieces of Renaissance art, while the gardens were redesigned by adding statues, fountains, and a system of aqueducts for the necessary water supply.

The country house itself is not open to the general public anymore – it is used by an Italian language institute. The gardens are free to enter though. There were only …

On a trip to Tuscany in 2012, I tried to get to as many of the medici villas and gardens as possible. As it was before their inscription (in 2013), most villas were not well indicated and most were closed to visitors. So for some, it was more getting a glimpse of a villas than a real visit. Here is a list of the 10 villas I managed to see:

Boboli gardens are within « Historic Center of Florence » WHS. So it is inscribed twice. The gardens are nice to wander around. The site includes the Pitti Palace, a vast Renaissance palace housing a museum. A top the gardens, the Casino del Cavaliere, a nice small separate gardens.

Villa Petraia garden and villa is open to public, and easy to reach from Firenze center. It is a nice walk around the Italian gardens.

Villa Castello is about 5 minute from villa Petraia. It is usually open to public, but was closed on the day of my visit. I could see the extrenal walls of the villa. The gardens seem very interesting to visit.

Villa Pratolino is a few kilometer north of Florence centre, in the middle of a hospital campus. It is closed to visitors and the villa is hidden behind trees.

South of Florence city, Villa de Poggio Imperiale can be reached by bus. It houses a high school. The front of the building is a parking lot. This villa can be ommitted.

Villa Fiesole i a few …

In July 2013 I visited Florence for a couple of weeks so I decided to explore some of the sites listed in this WHS. While in the Badia Fiesolana I got a bird's eye view of the Villa Medicea di Fiesole and then I visited the Giardino di Boboli in Florence. The Giardino di Boboli is an evergreen garden where green is the main dominant colour with few flowers if any. The Giardino di Boboli was intended to be a place of contemplation and Grand Duke used to personally accompany his special guests through the garden explaining that after such an experience they would feel changed in mind and soul. The present exit near Palazzo Pitti was originally intended to be the entrance with a statue of a fat dwarf on a turtle representing Cosimo's advisor. This certainly doesn't help! I would suggest reading some information ahead of your visit otherwise you won't appreciate it. Hopefully I'll have enough time to visit more sites soon.

I visited another 2 Medici Villas in July 2013 and August 2013. I visited Villa Poggio Imperiale which is already visible when driving to or from Piazzale Michelangiolo. It is really huge and it is currently used as a state school. I also visited the Medici Villa and Gardens at Castello. It is the seat of the Accademia della Crusca and is not regularly open to the public. The Sala dei Pali is really impressive and a must for anyone who loves the Italian language. The gardens are well kept with different plants, flowers and fruits. There is a grotto similar to the one in the Boboli Gardens with statues and shell decorations. Nearby it is also quite easy to visit Villa della Petraia and its gardens but I very much preferred the one in Castello.