Villa Rusciano is a historic villa in the neighbourhood of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, central

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, which includes work by

Brunelleschi Filippo di ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi (1377 – 15 April 1446), commonly known as Filippo Brunelleschi ( ; ) and also nicknamed Pippo by Leon Battista Alberti, was an Italian architect, designer, goldsmith and sculptor. He is considered to ...

Description and history

Set in a hilly area on the outskirts of

, the Villa name is derived from the area, once an agricultural estate. The villa was cited by

Franco Sacchetti Franco Sacchetti (; 1332 – August 1400), was an Italian poet and novelist. Biography Born in Florence or in Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik), he was the son of Benci di Uguccione, surnamed ''"Buono"'', a Florentine merchant of the noble and ancie ...

in Trecentonovelle, and once belonged to the Salviati family. In the mid-15th century,

Luca Pitti Luca Pitti (1398–1472) was a Florentine banker during the period of the republic presided over by Cosimo de' Medici. He was awarded a knighthood, and received lavish presents from both the Signory of Firenze and the Medici family as a reward ...

bought the estate and had it restructured by

Filippo Brunelleschi Filippo di ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi (1377 – 15 April 1446), commonly known as Filippo Brunelleschi ( ; ) and also nicknamed Pippo by Leon Battista Alberti, was an Italian architect, designer, goldsmith and sculptor. He is considered to ...

. The original project was not fully completed. Of this project only the huge staircase and decorative parts of the inner courtyard and interiors remain. Inside there is also a della Robbia sculpture with cherubs. The garden has a panoramic terrace with cypress trees. It was in these gardens that Francesco Franceschi Fenzi first discovered his passion for plants. In 1472 it was bought by the

Florentine Republic The Republic of Florence (; Old Italian: ), known officially as the Florentine Republic, was a Italy in the Middle Ages, medieval and Italian Renaissance, early modern state that was centered on the Italian city-states, Italian city of Florence ...

and granted as residence to

Federico III da Montefeltro Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro KG (7 June 1422 – 10 September 1482), was one of the most successful mercenary captains (''condottieri'') of the Italian Renaissance, and lord of Urbino from 1444 (as Duke f ...

Duke of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino () was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1631. It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the ea ...

, Captain General of the armed forces. The villa had several other owners. Among other prestigious Florentine owners was

Emanuele Fenzi Emanuele Fenzi (8 April 1784 – 10 January 1875) was a leading Italian banker, iron producer, concessionaire of the Florence–Livorno railway and other railway enterprises, merchant for exportation of Tuscan products, and landowner. Made Sen ...

and his family, later bequeathed to Leone and

Ida Fenzi Ida Copeland (''née'' Fenzi; 15 April 1881 – 29 June 1964) was an Anglo-Italian British politician. She was active in social welfare both locally and nationally, particularly the Girl Guides, and was one of the earliest women to enter Parli ...

Notes

Sources

* ''Il Posseso di Rusciano'' * ''Il “Quinto Liceo Scientifico”'' - Giovanni Giovannini * ''Un Ricordo del Liceo “Gobetti”'' - Mercurio Candela

External links

Daniela Caneschi Photos of Villa di Rusciano
{{Authority control Houses completed in the 15th century Rusciano Renaissance architecture in Florence 15th-century establishments in Italy