The Villa il Pavone is a neo-

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

style suburban palace located outside of the city of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

, a region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy.

History

In 1825, Mario Bianchi Bandinelli commissioned the Sienese architect

Agostino Fantastici Agostino Fantastici (1782 – 1845) was an Italian scenic designer and architect, mainly active in Siena, Italy. He also wrote books of poetry. Biography He was born in Montalcino, but his father Bernardino was a teacher of arithmetic and pers ...

to refurbish the existing ''Palazzo del Pavone'', attributed to Francesco di Giorgio, into a villa with gardens. The entry gate has two pillars topped by sphinxes, sculpted by Luigi Magi. The small square villa building is accessed by a portico with Tuscan-style columns. Along the sides of the villa are brick

orangeries An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...

. The freer-style ''

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

'' garden is bordered by woods to the west and is crossed by winding paths. It also has designed set-pieces: a Doric loggia overlooking the Via Cassia, a monument recalling Roman

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

sepulchres (e.g. Pyramid of Cestius) and a

hypogeum A hypogeum or hypogaeum (plural hypogea or hypogaea, pronounced ; literally meaning "underground", from Greek language, Greek ''hypo'' (under) and ''ghê'' (earth)) is an underground temple or tomb. Hypogea will often contain niche (archite ...

-grotto, overlooking a small pond. In 2015, the villa served as a retirement home.Giardini e ville nella Provincia di Siena - Guida
entry on Villa Il Pavone, dated 25/03/2014.

References

External links

Villas in the Province of Siena Gardens in Tuscany Buildings and structures in Siena {{Italy-palace-stub