Villa Medicea di Lappeggi

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Description

The history of Villa Medicea di Lappeggi is closely intertwined with the figure of Cardinal Francesco Maria, the younger brother of the Grand Duke Cosimo III, who transformed it into a small court outside Florence.

Founded as a turreted building, the first major renovations were made in 1596 after the villa was bought by Francesco de’ Medici, son of Cosimo I.

In 1667, it was the turn of Cardinal Francesco Maria who built a new floor, a terrace instead of the upper gallery, stables, greenhouses, a theater, a pavilion like Kaffeehaus and a games room for ball games.

The interior was then entirely decorated with a series of paintings that celebrated the Medici court.

The villa became a place for lavish festivities and a meeting place for the Florentine nobility.

The death of Francesco Maria de’ Medici in 1710 put an end to the glitz of Villa Lappeggi which was doomed, unfortunately, to abandonment.

In the nineteenth century it was bought first by Captain Cambiagi who demolished the top floor and then by the sculptor Giovanni Duprè. In 1895, however, the building was severely damaged by an earthquake.

Villa Lappeggi has been restored in recent years, but only the staircase that opens in front of the villa remains from the period of its greatest splendor.

The villa is privately owned and, unfortunately, cannot be visited.

How to get

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  • Villa Medicea

    di Lappeggi

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