by
Giusto Utens, held in the
villa Medicea della Petraia. The villa is located near
San Piero a Sieve in the
Mugello region, in the
province of Florence, in the area from which the
Medici family originated. It was one of the first - if not the first - of the
Medici villas built outside
Florence. The estate is situated on a strategic position in the
Apennines, on the top of a hill dominating the
Val di Sieve, near a crossroads (giving rise to its name, from the
Latin trivium). The villa belonged to
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, the founder of the
Medici bank and of the fortunes of the Medici family. Following his death in 1429, it was remodelled by his son,
Cosimo de' Medici, whose architect,
Michelozzo, restyled it as a fortified castle. Michelozzo retained the windowless tower, moat and drawbridge, and added a perimeter walkway with
corbels. There is a central courtyard with a well. The villa remained essentially a fortified house, but various features indicate its secondary purpose as a place of pleasure, including an early
walled garden, built on two terraces beside the villa. The upper terrace has a stone
pergola, with a double row of columns; a similar pergola has disappeared from the lower terrace. The garden was a place of retreat for Cosimo, away from the troubles of politics in Florence, where he could tend his fruit trees. On the other side of the villa stands a chapel. The villa was surrounded by woods and an agricultural estate, bordering that of the
Villa Medicea di Cafaggiolo. In the sixteenth century the villa was enlarged by
Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who enjoyed hunting in the estate, and his son
Ferdinand I.
Ferdinand II sold the estate to a wealthy Florentine, Giuliano Serragli, in 1644, who gave it to the
Oratorians. The garden to the front of the villa, with roses and
box hedges, was laid out in the twentieth century. As of 2008, it belongs to a private individual who uses the property to produce fine wines.
Wine tasting and tours are available to interested groups in English and Italian. ==Footnotes==