Villa Medici of Castello

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The Villa di Castello, Lunette by Giusto Utens , Museo di Firenze com'era
The facade

The Villa Medici de Castello is a Medici villa in the hills of Florence .

The villa belonging to the Stufa family was acquired by Lorenzo and his brother Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de 'Medici around 1480 . They expanded the 14th century building. Lorenzo (not to be confused with his cousin Lorenzo the Magnificent ) was an important client of Sandro Botticelli , whose birth of Venus he ordered for the villa in question in 1485.

In 1538, Grand Duke Cosimo I de 'Medici had the villa rebuilt by Giorgio Vasari and commissioned Niccolò Tribolo to design the garden. Ferdinand I , Cosimo's son, completed the renovation between 1588 and 1595. Michel de Montaigne visited the villa in 1580 and 1581. Joseph Furttenbach was also a guest here. The villa now houses the Accademia della Crusca and is not open to the public. The terraced gardens of the Tribolo with their famous agrumen collection can, however, be visited for an entrance fee.

The garden

The figures of the first terrace
The garden all'italiana

The villa garden is considered to be the best preserved example of an “Italian garden” according to the canon of Leon Battista Alberti . The compact and geometric shape goes back to the 15th century, as do the three terraces. The famous animal grotto and the figural decorations, but also the water features, are already Mannerism .

Grotta degli Animali

On the first terrace in the center there is a large water basin with a fountain, a work by Tribolo and Pierino da Vinci (1538–1548). The fountain statue Hercules and Antaeus was made by Bartolomeo Ammannati . In the center of the garden there was once a Venus-Fiorenza by Giambologna . Until at least 1599 the fountain was surrounded by a small laurel and myrtle rosette. Today's statue decorations around the pool date from the years 1785–1788. The second terrace forms the citrus garden . From the beginning of May around 500 potted plants bearing ornamental citrus fruits are on display here. The Medici were passionate about growing such plants. Some of the existing trees represent extremely rare and valuable varieties. On the edge of the third terrace is the famous Grotta degli Animali .

literature

  • Isabella Lapi Ballerini: The Medici Villas. Complete Guide. Giunti, Florenz et al. 2011, ISBN 978-88-09-76632-7 .

Web links

Commons : Villa medicea di Castello  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 43 ° 49 ′ 10 "  N , 11 ° 13 ′ 41.4"  E