5/5 Michele De G. 4 months ago on Google • 142 reviews
My
usual
cultural
outing
this
time
took
me
to
Florence,
on
the
road
to
Bologna
from
which
you
can
enjoy,
among
other
things,
a
stupendous
panorama
over
the
entire
valley
which
ranges
from
the
Fiesole
offshoot,
on
the
left,
to
the
hills
that
they
slope
towards
the
Valdarno,
with
the
City
...
Homeland
of
the
Renaissance
in
the
centre.
Today's
destination
is
Villa
La
Pietra...
a
stupendous
Villa
"hidden"
by
a
long
avenue
of
cypresses
which
was
last
owned
by
the
Hacton
family.
The
name
derives
from
a
Roman
milestone
that
determined
the
distance,
one
mile,
from
Porta
San
Gallo,
today
Piazza
della
Libertà.
The
history
of
this
Villa
has
its
roots
in
the
14th
century,
with
an
unclear
attribution
of
ownership
between
the
Macinghi
and
the
Wool
Consuls...
what
is
certain
is
that
in
1460
it
passed
to
the
Sassetti
family
and
then
became,
in
1546,
the
home
of
the
Capponi
family
and,
with
Cardinal
Luigi
Capponi,
take
the
baroque
form
that
we
can
admire
today.
The
Hactons,
the
last
owners,
essentially
took
care
of
the
garden
...
transforming
it
into
an
"Italian
garden"
with
terraced
on
three
levels.
With
his
son
Harold,
dandy,
writer,
and
art
collector,
the
residence
was
transformed
into
a
cultural
center
where
heterogeneous
collections
were
centralized,
ranging
from
Roman
funerary
art
to
gold
funds
from
the
13th
and
14th
centuries...
until
Renaissance
and
oriental
art
with
an
innate
purely
aesthetic
taste
that
gave
everything
an
elegant
touch.
Today,
after
being
donated
with
a
bequest
to
New
York
University
by
Herold,
the
last
descendant
of
the
English
family,
it
is
NYU's
most
important
campus
in
Europe
and
is
a
serious
opportunity
for
young
students.
Villa
La
Pietra
is
open
to
the
public
throughout
the
year
on
specific
days,
easily
found
on
the
Home
Page,
by
appointment
only
and,
on
those
days,
it
is
free.
The
visit
is
guided,
among
other
things,
excellently
by
qualified
personnel
and
includes
part
of
the
Piano
Nobile
and
the
Park
(unfortunately,
in
my
case
it
was
not
possible
due
to
the
less
than
optimal
weather
conditions).
It
is
not
permitted
to
take
photos
or
videos
inside
the
Villa
while
it
is
permitted
in
the
Park.
