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Villa Corsini a Mezzomonte, Florence |
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Villa Corsini belonged to the Buondelmonti family in the 11 C. The building was initially a fortified farm. The current structure was created in the 14 C, built from "pietra forte" blocks, in the middle of the hill (hence the name, "mezzo-monte"). The villa is of typical Renaissance style, a square with a central courtyard. In the first years of the 14 C, the villa was bought by the Barduccio Ottavanti family. Lorenzo de Medici "the Magnificent" then bought it in 1480, but sold it two years later to Bernardo del Nero. Later on, the estate passed through the hands of the Ridollfi and Panciatichi families.
The Prince and future Cardinal Giovan Carlo de Medici (son of Cosimo II and of Maria Maddalena of Austria), brother to the future Grand Duke Ferdinando II, obtained the house in 1629, when he was just 19 years old. Thanks to this young prince and his "chamber assistant", the Marquis Filippo Niccolini, today we have the frescoes, decorations and elegant italianate gardens of this stunning villa. Specialist artisans created the magnificent coffered ceilings which still exist in some halls. The construction work ended in 1632 and the villa was ready to be frescoed with a splendid set of paintings. Cecco Bravo, together with other minor artists, worked on the southern side of the villa on one the largest and most detailed cycles of paintings ever done in a Florentine villa. The frescoes represent scenes from "Orlando Furioso", "Gerusalemme Liberata" and other literary works, and are reminiscent of the Flemish style that was extremely popular throughout Europe at that time. Michele Colonna and Baccio del Bianco did the surrounding framework paintings of San Giovanni and Albani.
In 1644, the Cardinal Giovan Carlo de Medici sold the villa to the Marchese Andrea del Senatore Neri Corsini. The villa has remained in that family ever since. Some years ago, the architect don Giovanni and his wife Donna Inès dei Marchesi d'Ormesson took over the estate and began an ongoing work of restoration of the halls, gardens, park and all the other areas of the property.
(Note: do not confuse this villa with Villa Corsini at Castello ("I Rinieri"), another renaissance villa that houses the Florentine archaeological museum.)
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Click the small images for a larger picture |
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Impruneta site map
Impruneta Home Page
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;)
;)
;)