Villa Medici of Fiesole

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Villa Medici in Fiesole
The villa in the 15th century. Detail from an altarpiece by Domenico Ghirlandaio

The Villa Medici in Fiesole near Florence is one of the oldest and best-preserved villa buildings of the Medici family , a once very influential Italian dynasty . It was built from 1451 to 1457 at the behest of Cosimo de 'Medici by Michelozzo di Bartolommeo or Leon Battista Alberti for Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici , Cosimo's second eldest son. The villa did not function as the center of an agricultural business, but as a place of relaxation and aesthetic and intellectual stimulation. Lorenzo il Magnifico inherited the property from his uncle in 1469, where he gathered Marsilio Ficino , Pico della Mirandola and Angelo Ambrogini, alias Poliziano . The villa remained in the possession of the Medicis until 1671.

The garden of the villa is laid out on three terraces. On the top there are lemon trees in pots, the second is equipped with magnolia trees, flower borders, box hedges and a large central fountain. The third terrace was designed in the Italian style with a pergola from 1911 to 1923 by Cecil Pinsent and Geoffrey Scott . The villa is privately owned and can only be viewed to a limited extent.

literature

  • Isabella Lapi Ballerini: Le ville medicee. Guide completa. Giunti, Firenze 2003, ISBN 88-09-02994-1 (English version: The Medici villas. Complete guide. Revised edition. Ministero per i beni e le attività culturali, Soprintendenza specialeper il Polo museale fiorentino, Florence 2006, ISBN 88-09 -02995-X , p. 78ff.)

Web links

Commons : Villa Medici (Fiesole)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Donata Mazzini, Simone Martini: Villa Medici, Fiesole. Leon Battista Alberti and the prototype of the Renaissance Villa . = Villa Medici a Fiesole. Leon Battista Alberti e il prototipo di villa rinascimentale. Centro Di, Florence 2004, ISBN 88-7038-411-X (Italian and English).

Coordinates: 43 ° 48 ′ 20.6 "  N , 11 ° 17 ′ 20.8"  E