Our visit today to the elegant hunting lodge the Medici of Florence built for themselves at Cerreto Guidi.
The villa owes its fame in part to the tragic story of Isabella de’ Medici, who died in Cerreto in the night between 15 and 16 July 1576. Isabella, the favorite daughter of Cosimo I and Eleonora di Toledo, married Duke Paolo in 1558. According to a legend fed by romantic literature, Isabella would have been strangled by hit men at the disposal of her jealous husband. Recent studies have shed light on Isabella’s life, debunking the legend of atrocities and excesses; the causes of her death are due, presumably to a very serious form of dropsy.
The villa, which belonged to Don Giovanni de’ Medici, Don Pietro and Don Lorenzo, passed to Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici. In 1780 the Habsburg-Lorraine sold the villa and after various changes of ownership it passed to the marquis Geddes da Filicaia, who entrusted the fresco decoration of the ground floor rooms to the painter Ruggero Focardi. Purchased in 1966 by Galliano Boldrini who donated it to the Italian state in 1969 it was opened to the public in 1978.
The furnishings of the villa have been reconstituted according to the descriptions of historical inventories with the intention of representing the sophisticated and multifaceted taste of the Medici collections. Alongside a significant nucleus of Medici portraits – from the Florentine Galleries – we noted the full-length one of Cosimo in his coronation dress as Grand Duke and the portrait of Isabella de’ Medici. There are tapestries from the Medici manufacture and a selection of works from Stefano Bardini’s Legacy (acquired by the State in 1996) including paintings on wood and canvas, inlaid and painted chests, cabinets, marble and terracotta sculptures, majolica and semi-precious stone artefacts.
Since 2002, the villa has also housed the Historical Museum of Hunting, including a collection of weapons, mainly for hunting and shooting. In the triple arched loggias and in the evocative rooms below the Medici bridges, marbles from the Roman and medieval periods are also exhibited.
We first visited the villa several years ago and were glad to see it cared for better than ever before. It was a real treat to enjoy its setting in the attractive little town of Cerreto Guidi and it was a very welcome break on the way to Florence.