In 1473, a ruined fortified house at Poggio a Caiano called the Ambra, and land and a mill owned by Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai, were bought by Lorenzo de' Medici. Initially, only agricultural improvements were carried out; then in 1485, work began on the villa itself, to designs by Giuliano da Sangallo, who created a large fortified, quadrangular country house built around a central courtyard. A large central hall gave access to rooms with windows overlooking the surrounding countryside; at the time, this design was innovative.
On Lorenzo’s death in 1492, the villa was still largely unfinished; however, work resumed under Lorenzo’s second son, Giovanni, who became pope as Leo X. The central hall is named after this first Medici pope.[5]
Following the Italian unification, the villa was refurbished and used by Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. The villa was donated to the Italian state in 1919. After a long period of neglect it became a national museum in 1984 and since that date has undergone restoration. It is now open to the public.
The main attractions of the villa are the Pontormo frescoes depicting Vertumnus and Pomona in the main salon. Most of the interior has lost its original furnishings, but these are being recreated to return the villa to the state described in a 1911 inventory, when it was a residence of the Savoyard.[7] The formal gardens, now somewhat wild, slope down to the Ombrone at the rear of the villa. Poggio also contains in the North East corner of the formal garden Cosimo I's tennis court (1543) intact but no longer in use. The palatoia (as the court was referred to in Tuscany – elsewhere known as "pallacorda") was built for Cosimo I at the same time as his court at Palazzo Pitti. The "tennis" of the Italian Renaissance was hugely popular at court and in the streets as in France where the sport is known as "jeu de paume". "Real tennis" (as it is called today), which requires a customised court with elaborate interior playing surfaces, is the model for modern tennis although the sport played in the Renaissance continues to be played today with 46 active courts in France, Australia, the UK and USA.
^Roberta Passalacqua La Villa medicea di Poggio a Caiano, 2000
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Poggio a Caiano.
Official tourism website (in English)
arttrav Medici Villa Poggio a Caiano information from arttrav.com
Museums in Florence - The Medici Villa of Poggio A Caiano
October 14, 2023
poggio, caiano, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Poggio a Caiano news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Poggio a Caiano is a town and comune in the province of Prato Tuscany region Italy The town birthplace of Philip Mazzei lies 9 kilometres 6 mi south of the provincial capital of Prato Poggio a CaianoComuneComune di Poggio a CaianoMedici villa in Poggio a CaianoCoat of armsLocation of Poggio a CaianoPoggio a CaianoLocation of Poggio a Caiano in ItalyShow map of ItalyPoggio a CaianoPoggio a Caiano Tuscany Show map of TuscanyCoordinates 43 49 N 11 04 E 43 817 N 11 067 E 43 817 11 067CountryItalyRegionTuscanyProvincePrato PO FrazioniBonistalloGovernment MayorFrancesco Puggelli centre left Area 1 Total5 km2 2 sq mi Elevation45 m 148 ft Population 31 December 2013 2 Total10 019 Density2 000 km2 5 200 sq mi DemonymPoggesiTime zoneUTC 1 CET Summer DST UTC 2 CEST Postal code59016Dialing code055Patron saintSanta MariaSaint dayFirst Sunday of AugustWebsiteOfficial website Contents 1 Sister towns 2 Main sights 2 1 The Medici villa 2 2 Churches 2 3 Villas 2 4 Other sights 3 Feasts 4 References 5 External linksSister towns EditPoggio a Caiano has two sister cities 3 4 nbsp Charlottesville Virginia nbsp Agounit Sahrawi Arab Democratic RepublicMain sights EditThe Medici villa Edit Main article Villa di Poggio a Caiano In 1473 a ruined fortified house at Poggio a Caiano called the Ambra and land and a mill owned by Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai were bought by Lorenzo de Medici Initially only agricultural improvements were carried out then in 1485 work began on the villa itself to designs by Giuliano da Sangallo who created a large fortified quadrangular country house built around a central courtyard A large central hall gave access to rooms with windows overlooking the surrounding countryside at the time this design was innovative On Lorenzo s death in 1492 the villa was still largely unfinished however work resumed under Lorenzo s second son Giovanni who became pope as Leo X The central hall is named after this first Medici pope 5 In the following century the Villa di Poggio a Caiano was used by successive Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany In 1587 Bianca Cappello and Francesco I de Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany died there within a day of one another after short illnesses raising the still unsolved question of their poisoning by Francesco s brother Ferdinand who succeeded Francesco as Ferdinando I de Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany 6 In the 17th and 18th centuries the architects Giuseppe and Giovan Battista Ruggeri and Antonio Maria Ferri extended the villa Major improvements to the gardens were also carried out after it came into the ownership of Maria Luisa Queen of Etruria Following the Italian unification the villa was refurbished and used by Victor Emmanuel II of Italy The villa was donated to the Italian state in 1919 After a long period of neglect it became a national museum in 1984 and since that date has undergone restoration It is now open to the public The main attractions of the villa are the Pontormo frescoes depicting Vertumnus and Pomona in the main salon Most of the interior has lost its original furnishings but these are being recreated to return the villa to the state described in a 1911 inventory when it was a residence of the Savoyard 7 The formal gardens now somewhat wild slope down to the Ombrone at the rear of the villa Poggio also contains in the North East corner of the formal garden Cosimo I s tennis court 1543 intact but no longer in use The palatoia as the court was referred to in Tuscany elsewhere known as pallacorda was built for Cosimo I at the same time as his court at Palazzo Pitti The tennis of the Italian Renaissance was hugely popular at court and in the streets as in France where the sport is known as jeu de paume Real tennis as it is called today which requires a customised court with elaborate interior playing surfaces is the model for modern tennis although the sport played in the Renaissance continues to be played today with 46 active courts in France Australia the UK and USA The villa was featured in the 1965 John Schlesinger film Darling Churches Edit Santa Maria del Rosario in Poggio a Caiano Church at the Institute of Minim Sisters in Poggio a Caiano Parish church in Poggetto Chapel at Villa Castellaccio San Francesco in Bonistallo Santa Maria in Bonistallo Santa Cristina in Santa Cristina in Pilli Diana s temple at Medici Villa in Poggio a CaianoVillas Edit nbsp Vertumnus and Pomona lunette frescoed by Jacopo Pontormo in the Medici Villa nbsp Painting of fish by Antonio Tanari c 1610 1630 in the Medici Villa Medici Villa in Poggio a Caiano Villa Cirri in Poggio a Caiano Villa Pacetti in Poggio a Caiano Villa Il Cerretino in Il Cerretino Villa Il Poggiale in Il Poggiale Villa Il Castellaccio in Madonna del Violo Villa Magra in Madonna del Violo Villa Mastringalla in PoggettoOther sights Edit Medici Park in Poggetto Old palace with tower in Santa Cristina in Pilli Birthplace of Philip Mazzei in Poggio a Caiano Bacco s fountain in Poggio a Caiano Town hall in Poggio a Caiano Medici Stables in Poggio a CaianoFeasts EditSiege at the Villa in Poggio a Caiano held in September Antique fair in Poggio a Caiano Festival delle Colline held in the whole province of PratoReferences Edit Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011 Italian National Institute of Statistics Retrieved 16 March 2019 Popolazione Residente al 1 Gennaio 2018 Italian National Institute of Statistics Retrieved 16 March 2019 Sister City International Listings Italy Sister Cities International Archived from the original on 2010 08 31 Retrieved 2011 02 22 Comune di Poggio a Caiano Gemellaggio Saharawi Comune di Poggio a Caiano Archived from the original on 2011 09 26 Retrieved 2011 04 22 Lapi Ballerini The Medici Villas 2003 C G F Young The Medici Roberta Passalacqua La Villa medicea di Poggio a Caiano 2000External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Poggio a Caiano Official tourism website in English arttrav Medici Villa Poggio a Caiano information from arttrav com Museums in Florence The Medici Villa of Poggio A Caiano Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Poggio a Caiano amp oldid 1091002956, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
