![Rusciano](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Rusciano.jpg)
Villa Rusciano is a historic villa in the neighbourhood of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, central
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, which includes work by
Brunelleschi
Filippo Brunelleschi ( , , also known as Pippo; 1377 – 15 April 1446), considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture, was an Italian architect, designer, and sculptor, and is now recognized to be the first modern engineer, p ...
.
Description and history
Set in a hilly area on the outskirts of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, the Villa name is derived from the area, once an agricultural estate. The villa was cited by
Franco Sacchetti
Franco Sacchetti (; c. 1335 – c. 1400), was an Italian poet and novelist.
Biography
Born in Florence or in Ragusa (Croatia), Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik), he was the son of Benci di Uguccione, surnamed ''"Buono"'', a Florentine merchant of ...
in Trecentonovelle, and once belonged to the
Salviati family.
![Villa di rusciano 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Villa_di_rusciano_1.jpg)
In the mid-15th century,
Luca Pitti bought the estate and had it restructured by
Filippo Brunelleschi
Filippo Brunelleschi ( , , also known as Pippo; 1377 – 15 April 1446), considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture, was an Italian architect, designer, and sculptor, and is now recognized to be the first modern engineer, p ...
. The original project was not fully completed. Of this project only the huge staircase and decorative parts of the inner courtyard and interiors remain. Inside there is also a della Robbia sculpture with cherubs.
The garden has a panoramic terrace with cypress trees. It was in these gardens that
Francesco Franceschi Fenzi first discovered his passion for plants.
In 1472 it was bought by the
Florentine Republic
The Republic of Florence, officially the Florentine Republic ( it, Repubblica Fiorentina, , or ), was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flo ...
and granted as residence to
Federico III da Montefeltro
Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro KG (7 June 1422 – 10 September 1482), was one of the most successful mercenary captains (''condottieri'') of the Italian Renaissance, and lord of Urbino from 1444 (as Duke fr ...
,
Duke of Urbino, Captain General of the armed forces. The villa had several other owners. Among other prestigious Florentine owners was
Emanuele Fenzi
Emanuele Fenzi (8 April 1784 – 10 January 1875) was a leading Italy, Italian banker, iron producer, concessionaire of the Florence–Livorno railway and other railway enterprises, merchant for exportation of Tuscany, Tuscan products, and lando ...
and his family, later bequeathed to Leone and
Ida Fenzi.
Notes
Sources
* ''Il Posseso di Rusciano''
* ''Il “Quinto Liceo Scientifico”'' - Giovanni Giovannini
* ''Un Ricordo del Liceo “Gobetti”'' - Mercurio Candela
External links
Daniela Caneschi Photos of Villa di Rusciano
{{Authority control
Houses completed in the 15th century
Rusciano
Renaissance architecture in Florence
15th-century establishments in Italy