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Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Medici villa of Fiesole (1457)
Location	Tuscany, Italy
Criteria	Cultural: (ii), (iv), (vi)
Reference	175
Inscription	2013 (37th Session)
Area	125.4 ha (310 acres)
Buffer zone	3,539.08 ha (8,745.3 acres)
Coordinates	43°51′28″N 11°18′15″E / 43.85778°N 11.30417°E / 43.85778; 11.30417
Location of Medici villas in TuscanyShow map of TuscanyMedici villas (Italy)Show map of Italy

The Medici villas are a series of rural building complexes in Tuscany which were owned by members of the Medici family between the 15th century and the 17th century. The villas served several functions: they were the country palaces of the Medici, scattered over the territory that they ruled, demonstrating their power and wealth. They were also recreational resorts for the leisure and pleasure of their owners; and, more prosaically, they were the centre of agricultural activities on the surrounding estates. In 2013, the Medici villas were added to UNESCO's World Heritage list.

History

The first Medici villas were the Villa del Trebbio and that at Cafaggiolo, both strong fortified houses built in the 14th century in the Mugello region, the original home of the Medici family. In the 15th century, Cosimo de' Medici built villas designed by Michelozzo at Careggi and Fiesole, still quite severe buildings, but with additional recreational spaces: courtyards, balconies, and gardens. Lorenzo de' Medici spent long periods at the Villa di Careggi. Gradually, Florence became surrounded by a collection of Medici villas, with others in more distant parts of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. By the end of the 16th century, there were at least 16 major estates, with at least another 11 of secondary interest (mainly agricultural or owned by the Medici family for a short time), together with a constellation of farms and hunting lodges throughout Tuscany. Giusto Utens painted a series of lunettes depicting the main Medici villas in the 17th century, which are now held by the Villa La Petraia.

The last Medici villas were the Villa di Montevettolini and the Villa di Artimino, bought in 1595/6 by Ferdinando I while he was expanding the Villa di Castello, Villa La Petraia and Villa dell'Ambrogiana.

The later villas are outstanding examples of Renaissance and Baroque architecture, and were often accompanied by gardens. The garden at the Villa di Castello, created for Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, was the first in Italy by Niccolò Tribolo, who later designed the Boboli Gardens for Cosimo's Florentine new residence, the Palazzo Pitti.

Each significant member of the Medici family owned an estate. The Duke moved from house to house. When he was in residence, the villa became a microcosm of the Medici court. For hunting, he could visit the Villa del Trebbio, Villa di Cafaggiolo or Villa di Pratolino; reside at the Villa dell'Ambrogiana in the spring; and move to the Villa di Artimino, to while away the summer in its cooler elevated position.

After the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici in 1737, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Medici's assets, including their villas, were acquired by Francis, Duke of Lorraine (later Holy Roman Emperor). Francis only visited Tuscany once in 1739 and for the next twenty six years the villas were neglected. Consequently when Leopold I inherited the duchy in 1765 many were in a poor state and were disposed of. The remainder continued in use by the Lorraines until 1860 when Tuscany was absorbed into the new Kingdom of Italy. The House of Savoy opted to sell all but two of the remaining Medici villas (La Petraia & Poggio a Caiano), which remained in their possession until the end of the monarchy in 1946. Today, some of the Medici villas are museums; others are occupied by institutions, and a few are owned privately, and often hired privately or used to stage public events.

In 2006, the Italian government submitted the Medici villas for designation by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. At the 37th UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2013 at Phnom Penh, "Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany" was added to the World Heritage list.

List

Villas and gardens on the UNESCO list

Twelve villas and two gardens comprise the UNESCO World Heritage Site:

• Boboli Gardens
• Gardens of Pratolino
• Palazzo di Seravezza
• Villa di Artimino
• Villa di Cafaggiolo
• Villa di Careggi
• Villa di Castello
• Villa di Cerreto Guidi
• Villa La Magia
• Villa La Petraia
• Villa Medici in Fiesole
• Villa di Poggio a Caiano
• Villa del Poggio Imperiale
• Villa del Trebbio

Major villas

1. Villa del Trebbio (mid-14th century - 1738)
2. Villa di Cafaggiolo (mid-14th century - 1738)
3. Villa di Careggi (1417 - 1738)
4. Villa Medici in Fiesole (1450–1671)
5. Villa di Poggio a Caiano (1470–1738)
6. Villa di Castello (1480–1738)
7. Villa di Mezzomonte (1480–1482, 1629–1644)
8. Villa La Petraia (first half of the 16th century - 1738)
9. Villa di Camugliano (c.1530 - 1615)
10. Villa di Cerreto Guidi (1555–1738)
11. Villa del Poggio Imperiale (1565–1738)
12. Villa di Pratolino (1568–1738)
13. Villa di Lappeggi (1569–1738)
14. Villa dell'Ambrogiana (1574–1738)
15. Villa La Magia (1583–1738)
16. Villa di Artimino (1596–1738)

Minor villas

1. Villa di Collesalvetti (1464–1738)
2. Villa di Agnano (1486–1498)
3. Villa di Arena Metato (c.1563 - 1738)
4. Villa di Spedaletto (1486–1492)
5. Villa di Stabbia (1548–1738)
6. Villa della Topaia (c.1550 - 1738)
7. Palazzo di Seravezza (1560–1738)
8. Villa di Marignolle (1560–1621)
9. Villa di Lilliano (1584–1738)
10. Villa di Coltano (1586–1738)
11. Villa di Montevettolini (c.1595 - 1738)

Gallery

• Villa di Careggi
• Villa di Poggio a Caiano
• L'Appennino, Parco di Pratolino
• Palazzo di Seravezza
• Villa a Fiesole
• Villa di Artimino

In addition to their country villas, the Medici also occupied the following buildings in Florence:

• Palazzo Medici Riccardi (1444–1540, then used by less important members of the family until 1659)
• Palazzo Vecchio (1540 - c.1560)
• Palazzo Pitti (1550–1738)
• Casino di San Marco

and the Villa Medici in Rome.

References

1. "Medici Villas". UNESCO. United Nations. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 1 June 2006. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
2. "Ville e Giardini Medicei". Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
3. "Al Palazzo del Marchese di Camugliano".

Further reading

• Ballerini, Isabella. (2003). The Medici Villas: The Complete Guide. Florence: Giunti. ISBN 978-88-09-02995-8.
• Giardini di Toscana, foreword by Mariella Zoppi, Edifir, 2001
• Alidori Laura, Le dimore dei Medici in Toscana, Edizioni Polistampa Firenze,1995
• Mignani, Daniela (1995) . The Medicean Villas by Giusto Utens (2nd ed.). Florence: Arnaud. ISBN 88-8015-000-6.

External links

• Gardens and Villas of Tuscany official website (in Italian)
• Museums in Florence – The Medici Villa of Poggio A Caiano
• Museums in Florence – The Medici Villa della Petraia

v t e Tourism in Florence
Museums, galleries and palaces	Bargello Casa Buonarroti Casa Guidi Galleria dell'Accademia David Garden of Archimedes Loggia del Bigallo Loggia dei Lanzi Loggia del Mercato Nuovo Loggia del Pesce Loggia Rucellai Museo dell'Opera del Duomo Museo Galileo Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografia Museo Nazionale di San Marco Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze La Specola National Archaeological Museum Orsanmichele Ospedale degli Innocenti Palazzo dell'Arte dei Beccai Palazzo Davanzati Palazzo Della Stufa Palazzo Gondi Palazzo Medici Riccardi Magi Chapel Palazzo Pitti Museo delle Porcellane Palazzo Spini Feroni Palazzo Strozzi Palazzo Vecchio Studiolo of Francesco I Stibbert Museum Uffizi Vasari Corridor
Religious sites	Basilicas Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore S Croce Baroncelli Chapel Pazzi Chapel S Lorenzo Medici Chapels S Maria Novella Tornabuoni Chapel SS Annunziata S Marco S Maria del Carmine Brancacci Chapel S Miniato al Monte S Spirito S Trinita Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel Sassetti Chapel Churches Badia Fiorentina Battistero di San Giovanni Certosa del Galluzzo Ognissanti Oratorio dei Vanchetoni Oratory of Gesù Pellegrino Oratory of S Thomas Aquinas Orsanmichele S Ambrogio Ss Apostoli S Felicita S Frediano in Cestello S Gaetano S Giovannino degli Scolopi S Giovannino dei Cavalieri S Jacopo sopr'Arno S Maria degli Angeli S Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi S Maria Maggiore S Martino del Vescovo S Pancrazio S Salvatore al Vescovo S Salvi Ss Simone e Giuda S Stefano al Ponte Other Great Synagogue
Towers (Torri)	degli Amidei degli Alberti dei Belfredelli dei Della Bella dei Gianfigliazzi dei Mannelli dei Pulci Giotto's Campanile
Library	Biblioteca Riccardiana (Palazzo Medici Riccardi) British Institute of Florence Gabinetto Vieusseux (Palazzo Strozzi) Kunsthistorisches Institut Laurentian Library National Central Library
Landmarks	Fountain of Neptune Giotto's Campanile Monument to Dante Ponte Vecchio
Theatres	Teatro Comunale Teatro della Pergola Teatro Verdi
Squares	Piazza del Duomo Piazza della Repubblica Piazza della Signoria Piazza Santa Croce Piazza San Lorenzo Piazzale Michelangelo
Streets	Via Cavour Via de' Tornabuoni
Forts	Belvedere Fortezza da Basso
Gardens and parks	Bardini Gardens Boboli Gardens Giardino dell'Iris Giardino delle Rose Orto Botanico di Firenze Parco delle Cascine
Villas	Medici villas di Castello La Petraia di Careggi Medicea L'Ambrogiana del Poggio Imperiale Gamberaia I Tatti Il Gioiello La Pietra Rusciano
Events and traditions	Calcio storico fiorentino Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Scoppio del carro
Districts of Florence Trams in Florence

v t e House of Medici
People	Lords of Florence Cosimo "The Elder" Piero "The Gouty" Lorenzo "The Magnificent" Piero "The Brief" Giovanni, Pope Leo X Giuliano Lorenzo II Giulio (Clement VII) Ippolito Alessandro "The Moor" Dukes of Florence Alessandro "The Moor" Cosimo I Grand Dukes of Tuscany Cosimo I Francesco I Ferdinando I Cosimo II Ferdinando II Cosimo III Gian Gastone Queens of France Caterina Maria Popes Leo X Clement VII Leo XI Cardinals male line: Giovanni (Leo X) Giulio (Clement VII) Ippolito Alessandro (Leo XI) Giovanni Ferdinando I Carlo Giovan Carlo Leopoldo Francesco Maria Francesco female line: Luigi de' Rossi Giovanni Salviati Innocenzo Cybo Bernardo Salviati Niccolò Ridolfi Lorenzo Strozzi Ferrante Gonzaga Vincenzo II Gonzaga Bishops and archbishops Filippo Bernardo Antonio Giuliano Zanobi Condottieri Giovanni delle Bande Nere Don Giovanni Mattias Genealogy Genealogical tables of the House of Medici	Festina Lente
Buildings	Villas Cafaggiolo Trebbio Careggi Fiesole La Quiete Collesalvetti Poggio a Caiano Castello Mezzomonte Agnano Spedaletto La Petraia Camugliano Stabbia La Topaia Cerreto Guidi Marignolle Arena Metato Poggio Imperiale Lapeggi L'Ambrogiana La Màgia Liliano Coltano Montevettolini Artimino Buti Seravezza Madama Palaces Casino Mediceo di San Marco Palazzo Medici Riccardi Palazzo Madama Palazzo Pitti Villa Medici Palazzo Medici Tornaquinci Livorno Palazzo delle Vedove Pisa Materdei Palazzo Medici di Ottaviano Fountains and gardens Medici fountain Villa di Pratolino Fortresses Arezzo Grosseto Piombino Pistoia San Piero a Sieve Siena Volterra Chapels Magi Chapel Medici Chapels, San Lorenzo New Sacristy Cappella dei Principi Old Sacristy
Patronage	Painters, sculptors and architects Bartolomeo Ammannati Sandro Botticelli Filippo Brunelleschi Michelangelo Michelangelo and the Medici Bernardo Buontalenti Leonardo da Vinci Donatello Michelozzo Antonio del Pollaiuolo Jacopo della Quercia Giorgio Vasari Poets and other literary figures Agnolo Poliziano Niccolò Machiavelli Humanists and philosophers Pico della Mirandola Marsilio Ficino Scientists Galileo Galilei Musicians Emilio de' Cavalieri Jacopo Peri
Heraldry	Medici coat of arms Crown of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Order of Saint Stephen
Institutions	Medici Bank
Art	Medici lions Medici porcelain Medici Vase Venus de' Medici Arazzeria Medicea
Related	Medici giraffe Galilean moons Stories set to music: "opera" Albizzi Pazzi conspiracy Savonarola TV series episodes

v t e Medici villas and gardens in Tuscany
Agnano L'Ambrogiana Arena Metato Artimino Boboli Gardens Buti Cafaggiolo Camugliano Careggi Castello Cerreto Guidi Collesalvetti Coltano Fiesole Lappeggi Lilliano La Magia Marignolle Mezzomonte Montevettolini La Petraia Poggio a Caiano Poggio Imperiale Pratolino Gardens of Pratolino La Quiete Seravezza Spedaletto Stabbia La Topaia Trebbio

• Medici villas
• World Heritage Sites in Italy