Villa di Castello

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

The Stufa family its villa was purchased in 1480 by Lorenzo and his brother Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de ' Medici. They expanded the product derived from the 14th century building. Lorenzo ( not to be confused with his cousin Lorenzo the Magnificent ) was a major client of Sandro Botticelli, he ordered his Birth of Venus 1485 for said Villa.

1538 was Grand Duke Cosimo I de ' Medici to rebuild the villa by Giorgio Vasari and commissioned Niccolò Tribolo with the garden design. Ferdinand I, the son of Cosimo, completed the conversion from 1588 to 1595. Michel de Montaigne visited the Villa 1580 to 1581. Furttenbach Joseph also was a guest. The villa now houses the Accademia della Crusca and is not publicly available. The terraced gardens of Tribolo with its famous Agrumensammlung however, can be visited against an admission fee

The Garden

The garden of the villa is considered 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, also the three terraces. The famous cave animal and figural decoration, but also built the waterworks already belong to the mannerism.

On the first terrace, a large pool with a fountain, a work of Tribolo and Pierino da Vinci is located in the center ( 1538-1548 ). The fountain statue " Hercules and Antaeus " is by Bartolomeo Ammannati. In the center of the garden is a Venus - Fiorenza once found by Giambologna. Until at least 1599 the well was surrounded by a small bay and Myrthenboskett. The present statue jewelry around the pool is from the years 1785 to 1788. The second terrace is the Agrumengarten. Here about 500 pot plants are on display from the beginning of May each carrying ornamental citrus. The Medici operated the breeding of such plants with passion. The existing trees represent in part extremely rare and valuable varieties. On the edge of the third terrace is the famous Grotta degli Animali.