Italy: Medici Villa di Castello

Located outside Florence, Villa di Castello was acquired by the Medici family in 1477 and was the main country residence of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1519–1574). Originally a fortified structure, it was meticulously redesigned to include lavish gardens full of sculptures, fountains, and grottoes to project Medici’s wealth and power. There is an upper garden and a lower garden with a vast collection of potted citrus trees (more than 500 pots of lemons and oranges!). The largest fountains are those of Hercules and Antaeus. Cosimo I effectively ruled from here, rather than being in Florence. The villa originally also had some of the most precious art treasures of Florence – in fact Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera were inspired by the villa’s grottoes.