The village of Peretola was founded in the Middle Ages. It was greatly developed during the Florentine Renaissance of the 15th century, as it sat in a strategic location between two great communication roads, the via Pistoiese and the via Pratese. For much of its history, the village of Peretola was a dependency of the autonomous commune of
Brozzi, until 1928, when the latter's communal status was suppressed and its territories partitioned. Peretola fell into portion assigned to the commune of
Florence, and was integrated into the administrative ward of Quartiere 5 (Rifredi). house in Peretola A house in Peretola (No. 8, on the corner of via Peretola and via del Campagnie) is claimed to be the original home of the Vespucci family, and birthplace of the celebrated navigator
Amerigo Vespucci (although Amerigo Vespucci was raised in their urban home in the Ognissanti quarter of the city of
Florence proper). Peretola is also the native village of
Tommaso Masini, nicknamed the "Zoroaster of Peretola", a friend and collaborator of
Leonardo da Vinci.
Giovanni Boccaccio set the tale of "Chichibio e la gru" (
Decameron, VI, 4) in the village of Peretola.
Niccolò Machiavelli, in his novella,
Belfagor arcidiavolo, tells the story of a demon which had been sent from Hell to Florence to investigate the excuses of its incorrigibly corrupt and wicked citizens (the Florentines blame their wives). The demon sets himself up in grand style with a Florentine wife, but quickly finds himself overwhelmed by her demands and flees to Peretola to seek refuge and restore his peace of mind. Machiavelli characterizes Peretola as a small rural paradise, an escape from the morass of Florence, a pleasant haven even for the devil. == Monuments ==