Villa Petraia and Villa di Castello Tour
Villa Petraia was originally owned by the Brunelleschi family. It was later sold to the wealthy Florentine banker Palla Strozzi in 1422, then to the Salutati family, and in 1544 it was bought by Cosimo I de' Medici. Cosimo gave the building to his son, Cardinal Ferdinando, who became Grand Duke in 1587 and transformed the structure from a stately building into a residence for princes. He expanded the garden and created three terraces: the first with dwarf plants, the second decorated with flower beds, and the third occupied by trees and citrus plants. At the centre of the structure is the Ballroom, which boasts splendid eighteenth-century frescoes. Villa Petraia was also the love nest of the beautiful Rosina and Vittorio Emanuele II.
Villa di Castello lies along the route of a Roman aqueduct. One of the oldest Medici properties, it was sold in 1477 to Lorenzo and Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de' Medici after restoration.
Cosimo I organized the garden as a propaganda tool, embellishing it with fountains, monuments, and sculptures symbolizing personal and dynastic power. A notable feature of the garden is the Cave of Animals, created by Tribolo. It is divided into three niches, each containing a bath covered in marble and decorated with mosaics and seashells. The astonishing living room, frescoed with nineteenth-century landscapes, is nowadays used for conferences and public sessions of the Academy of Crusca.
