There is no shortage of palaces, gardens, and architectural gems in and around Florence, however, if you have found a luxury villa in Florence, you should make sure to set aside some time for a visit to Villa La Pietra, which combines all of the above. Set in the hills just outside Florence, it is one of the grandest villas in Florence, is surrounded by extensive gardens, filled with wonderful objects, and an extraordinary sight to behold.
Head into the hills around Florence – looking down upon the city, where the noble families of the area, like the Medici had their country estates in which to pull back from urban hustle and bustle and seek out rest and recuperation – and you will encounter a grand entrance and a long avenue lined by cypresses standing tall and proud. At the end of this driveway is a fifteenth-century villa and, arranged around it, 57 acres of olive groves, fruit trees, and incredible gardens.
Head into the hills around Florence – looking down upon the city, where the noble families of the area, like the Medici had their country estates in which to pull back from urban hustle and bustle and seek out rest and recuperation – and you will encounter a grand entrance and a long avenue lined by cypresses standing tall and proud. At the end of this driveway is a fifteenth-century villa and, arranged around it, 57 acres of olive groves, fruit trees, and incredible gardens.
After a lengthy legal battle over ownership, the villa is now the uncontested home to the base of NYU Florence. It was, however, originally built in the 1460s for the famous and noble Sassetti family, who were leading figures at the Medici bank. In 1545, the family sold the villa to Piero di Niccolò Capponi. By 1907, it had been passed down to the Incontri, a branch of the Capponi, and was sold on to Hortense Mitchell, the wealthy American wife of Arthur Acton. The pair recreated a sixteenth-century Tuscan garden over the course of twenty years, which became known as one of the most beautiful gardens in Italy. Their son, Harold Acton, one of the most famous Anglo-American residents of Florence in the twentieth century and a great scholar and peer of poets and artists, inherited the property after their passing. Upon his own death in 1994, he bequeathed La Pietra and his fortune to New York University, in order to preserve it for academic purposes.
NYU has carried out remarkable renovations and maintenance work at Villa La Pietra, preserving its grounds, buildings, interiors, art, and furnishings. Its collections are extraordinary, including over 6,000 objects from a wide range of styles and media “including early Italian panel paintings, Flemish tapestries, Renaissance polychrome sculptures, French dresses, Art Nouveau silver, Chinese ceramics, and Baroque furniture”, a library with more than 10,000 volumes and many first editions among them, a collection of over 17,000 photographs, and a truly incredible garden.
The villa is open to the public on special day with guided tours of the Villa, the Collection, and Garden offered on Friday afternoons (which cost 20 euro and need to be booked in advance) and guided tours of just the gardens are offered on Tuesday mornings (again, requiring advance booking and costing 12 euro). Tours are usually not available in August or during the winter holiday break from mid-December to mid-January but it is open to the public for free two weeks each year during their Open Weeks, which occur during the third week of April and October. If you're looking to explore a wonderfully preserved villa in Tuscany, it is a great option!
Villa La Pietra
Via Bolognese, 120
50139 Florence, Italy
Email: villa.lapietra@nyu.edu
055 5007 210
Villa La Pietra
Via Bolognese, 120
50139 Florence, Italy
Email: villa.lapietra@nyu.edu
055 5007 210
Photo credits
Picture 1: sailko / CC BY-SA 3.0;
Picture 3: sailko / CC BY-SA 3.0
Picture 1: sailko / CC BY-SA 3.0;
Picture 3: sailko / CC BY-SA 3.0