Visiting the Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, Italy

The Medici villa and its gardens embody an ideal of the princely residence in the country where it was possible to live in harmony with nature, and dedicate as much to leisure pastimes as to the arts and knowledge. The Boboli Gardens ( Italian: Giardino di Boboli) is a historical park of the city of Florence that was opened to the public in 1766. Originally designed for the Medici, it represents one of the first and most important examples of the Italian garden, which later served as inspiration for many European courts.

Boboli Gardens Tickets and Tours in Florence musement

The Villa Medicea at Castello just a few kilometers from Florence's historical center is an ancient complex which boasts an elegant villa and a splendid Italian garden, second only to the Boboli Gardens in Florence. The Medici villas are a series of rural building complexes in Tuscany which were owned by members of the Medici family between the 15th century and the 17th century. The villas served several functions: they were the country palaces of the Medici, scattered over the territory that they ruled, demonstrating their power and wealth. 3.00The Netherlands - 04-Apr-15 -. The Medici Villas and Gardens comprise a serial nomination of 12 villas and 2 gardens in Tuscany. These are the legacy of the extensive arts patronage of the wealthy and powerful De' Medici family. The constructions date from the 15th to 17th centuries and reflect the contemporary trend among the Florentine. The story of the Medici villas begins north of Florence in the Mugello, at the Villa di Cafaggiolo. The family's roots lay in the area, and later this is where they would return and lie low when things got sticky in Florence. As a result, Cafaggiolo looks more like a castle than a villa, with fortifications and a defensive tower in the.

Visiting the Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, Italy

Touring the Medici Villas in Florence A day trip to Villa di Castello and Villa la Petraia by Flavia Cori No tour of Tuscany is complete without a visit to the Medici villas, a series of buildings and gardens that were owned by members of the Medici family between the XV - XVII centuries and have become UNESCO sites. The Medici Villa di Castello, in the hills of Florence , is also called Villa Reale and it is one of the oldest country residences of the Medici family, who acquired it in 1477. The Villa takes its name from the castellum cistern, part of the ancient Roman aqueduct that was found here. Tuscany, Lucca The history and magic of the Medici Villas Florence, and Tuscany in general, owes much to the ancient and influential noble Florentine Medici family, who held onto power almost uninterruptedly between 1434 with Cosimo de' Medici and 1737 with Grand Duke Gian Gastone de' Medici. The Medici family established the layout of the gardens, creating the Italian garden style that would become a model for many European courts. The vast green expanse with a regular layout is a real outdoor museum, populated by ancient and Renaissance statues.

The smell of Medici gardens in the morningArtTrav

Medici Villas and Gardens In 2013, Tuscan Medici Villas and Gardens have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, places of priceless value, belonging to humanity as a whole. The Medici Villas, immersed in the Tuscan landscape, testify the heritage left to us by the powerful Medici family between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Medici ruled Florence for nearly 300 years. They were bankers, politicians, and art patrons. Some of the Medici became cardinals and popes. The first real Medici power broker was Cosimo the Elder. He was both an avid art patron and a Machiavelli-like politician. In 1538, Tribolo designed gardens for the Villa Medici al Castello, owned by the Medici family since 1477, just a few miles from Florence. The gardens represent one of the first and best-preserved Italian gardens in history. The Garden was used as a storage place for weapons as well as a shelter for works of art, when Charles VIII entered Florence in 1494, determining the flight of Michelangelo and his patron Piero de' Medici. On that occasion the Garden of Lorenzo and the Orchard of San Marco were sacked by the enraged populace.

Visiting the Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, Italy

The Medici Chapels Star of The Show: Inside the Medici Chapels ( Cappelle Medicee) you'll find the amazing Cappella dei Principi (Chapel of the Princes) which holds the tombs of the Medici Grand Dukes. Each is made with different colored marbles and semi-precious stones. Boboli Gardens (Photo by Vicky T via Unsplash) - Imperial and Royal apartments - The Garden of Boboli: a must-see in Florence. It's a 45.000m² garden and it's a mix between Renaissance, Italian and British (romantic) gardens. It's full of statues, little lakes and different kinds of trees and there are plenty of traces left from the Medici.