Villa La Gamberaia in Florence
Villa Gamberaia is located in Settignano on the road from Florence to Fiesole. The coat of arms is the one of the Capponi family who owned it from 1718 to 1854.
In the fourteenth century the country house on this hill belonged to the nuns of St. Martin a Mensola. In 1412 it was purchased by Matteo di Domenico Gambarelli, called Rossellino. The Rossellino was one of the most famous architects and sculptors of the fifteenth century in Tuscany. In 1610 the property was bought by Zenobius Andrea Lapi. The great improvements and the transformation from a farm house in manor occurred in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the property passed to the Capponi family. The Lapi dedicated themselves to expand and decorate the garden which is located in the rear of the villa with terraces, statues and a grotto. Feature stone fountain are placed at the end of an avenue of cypresses. The backyard has a frescoed loggia and the building has, since the seventeenth century, two-storey.
In the twentieth century the princess Iohanna Ghyka decided to beautify the park with a parterre that is looking towards the Arno Valley. The work was entrusted to the gardeners Luigi Messeri and Martino Porcinai and lasted from 1905 to 1915. The placement of cypress trees, flower beds and water tubs creates a so striking landscape that the villa is mainly famous and renowned for its garden. The terrace overlooks Florence and offers visitors a beautiful view of the city and its surroundings. A wall long almost three hundred meters and a wall decorated with statues are located on the side of the villa and the parterre. From an entry into the wall you can enter into a smaller garden where there is a cave with ancient terracotta statues and mosaics. In the highest part, accessible with a double staircase, there is a forest of oaks and orange groves and continuing the grotto with a statue of Neptune.
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A selection of our most requested villas in the area:
Luxury villa sleeping 8 a few kilometres from Gambassi Terme, in the heart of Florence countryside. Garden, swimming pool, hydromassage, Internet connection. Tennis court, riding stable and golf club nearby. Possibility of organising horseback and mountain-bike rides in the neighbourhood.
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Villa for holidays on the hills of the Florentine countryside. Accommodation for 12+2 people, garden, private swimming pool, hydro massage, Internet connection.
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Villa with annexed cottage sleeping 6 in Valdisieve, near San Godenzo (Florence). Garden, barbecue, whirlpool swimming pool, air conditioning, Internet connection. A few kilometres from Lake Bilancino and the National Park of Casentino Forests.
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Small villa sleeping 6 near Reggello, in Valdisieve, just a few kilometres from Florence. Swimming pool, Internet connection, air conditioning. Cooking lessons, dinners and guided tours are organised upon request.
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