VILLA LA PETRAIA AND VILLA OF CASTELLO GARDEN
These two majestic villas on the slopes of Monte Morello are only 500 metres apart. Villa La Petraia, in addition to the Medici, has also seen a succession of other families such as the Lorraine and Savoy families. Yet it was for the Villa of Castello, now the seat of the Accademia della Crusca, that Botticelli painted his greatest masterpieces, La Venere and La Primavera, which are conserved in the Uffizi. The magnificent garden of the residence can be visited, a prototype of the 16th century style on which Tribolo, architect of the Boboli Gardens, also worked.
(ph. Ottavia Poli)

THE MEDICI GARDEN OF PRATOLINO
Another beautiful Medici park covering 20 hectares, with the famous Colossus of the Apennines, an incredible work by Giambologna.

VILLA OF POGGIO A CAIANO
A beautiful example of Renaissance architecture, designed by Giuliano da Sangallo for the great Lorenzo the Magnificent, who never saw the end of its construction, completed around 1525. Over the centuries it has been the setting for historic weddings, such as those between Alessandro de’ Medici and Margaret of Austria as well as Cosimo I and Eleonora da Toledo. It was the home of the Lorraine family and Elisa Baciocchi, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. The majestic Hall of Leo X houses the important cycle of frescoes by Pontormo, Andrea del Sarto, Franciabigio and Alessandro Allori.
(ph. Ottavia Poli)

VILLA OF ARTIMINO
Buontalenti was the designer of this villa, known as “La Ferdinanda”, because it was the favourite of Ferdinando I, and also called the “Villa of the Hundred Chimneys”, even though the many chimneys that can be seen on the roof do not add up to one hundred. The grounds used to be the entire Barco Reale, at the time a large hunting reserve, which in 1626 was enclosed by a 32-mile-long wall, of which some remains and a gateway are still visible. Today, the villa is at the heart of an estate that is also a winery.
(ph. Artimino Spa)

VILLA OF CERRETO GUIDI
Lesser known but very fascinating, the Villa of Cerreto Guidi, an imposing structure with a system of staircase access ramps, was built under Ferdinando II as a headquarters for hunting and fishing activities. Inside there are works of art, Medici portraits, sculptures and furnishings, including pieces by the collector Stefano Bardini, of the Florentine museum of the same name.
(ph. Ottavia Poli)