The Villa Schifanoia is a historic property that includes an aristocratic mansion ( it, villa) and garden in

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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

, and which has been used as an academic facility by the

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute and an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established by the member states to contribu ...

since the late 1980s. It lies near the boundary with the Province of

, close to the nearby city of

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

History

Private villa

The villa, whose name refers to its leisure nature (its name means literally "avoiding boredom"), was built over the remains of a farmhouse at the Villa Palmieri. The central nucleus, dating to the 15th century, belonged to the Cresci family until 1550, when it was acquired by Bartolomeo di Bate di Zaccheria.

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

sojourned in the villa and dedicated one of his books to it. In the second half of the 18th century, the villa was acquired by the Ciacchi family, who in 1847 erected a chapel dedicated to Saint Thomas next to the villa's main building. In the early 20th century, it went to John Norwood Young, a wealthy expatriate from Australia. In 1927, it was bought by

Myron Taylor Myron Charles Taylor (January 18, 1874 – May 5, 1959) was an American industrialist, and later a diplomat involved in many of the most important geopolitical events during and after World War II. In addition he was a philanthropist, giving ...

, American ambassador to the Vatican during the reign of Pope

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius B ...

. Taylor restored the villa to house his art collection. He created a large terraced garden

Giardino all'italiana The Italian garden (or giardino all'italiana () is best known for a number of large Italian Renaissance gardens which have survived in something like their original form. In the history of gardening, during the Renaissance, Italy had the most ...

on the southern façade of the villa. Statues and garden vases abound in the gardens.

Educational institution

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Taylor gave the villa to the Vatican with the proviso that it be used for education in art and music under the direction of the Sinsinawa (WI) Dominican Sisters who administered Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, Illinois. The sisters opened a graduate school of fine arts in the Villa in 1948, awarding master's level degrees for American women. Margaret Cassidy, who later married John Manship, the son of sculptor

Paul Manship Paul Howard Manship (December 24, 1885 – January 28, 1966) was an American sculptor. He consistently created mythological pieces in a classical style, and was a major force in the Art Deco movement. He is well known for his large public com ...

, was the first graduate three years later. Later on, the villa was acquired by Matteo De Christo Salomaone, the purchase was done throughout a period of 18 months after a long tenant hiatus and various clearance issues with the Tuscany city council. Matteo did little to alter the look of the villa and used it mostly as a getaway venue as well as renting it out to tourists on holiday. Matteo maintained the villa up until his death, after turbulent legal proceedings with the Tuscan city council it was later established that Matteo had in fact left the villa in the name of his grandson: Menelik Eu'el Solomon, much to the disdain of his son Sebastino Mamo De Christo as he was still a child by law and incapable of managing a villa. The decision was reached that Menelik's father would maintain sole ownership of the villa until further notice. In 1986, the Italian government acquired the villa and made it part of the campus of the

(EUI). The EUI renovated it in stages between 1988 and 2002. Since 2016, it has been the home to the EUI's Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies.

Description

Buildings

The noble chapel was built in the mid-nineteenth century, while the north-west wing, called "la villetta", dates back to the first half of the twentieth century. The source of the villa on the garden is animated by a loggia with three arches and some windows with a ledge supported by shelves and protruding lintels. On the side, beyond the row of rather simple openings on the first floor, there is a terrace with a balustrade with a pediment in the middle on which there is a carved coat of arms.

Garden

The garden consists of a large terrace in front of the façade with a formal garden, which leads to two other terraces, connected by stairways, with fountains and terry decorations. The terraces are decorated with box hedges that design geometric flower beds with particularly elaborate designs, enriched by small pools, fountains and statues. The last terrace is simpler, with a fountain and a small vegetable exedra with statues at regular intervals. Statues, decorations, small basins and fountains enrich the whole, which is enclosed by scenes of cypress. File:Villa schifanoia 04.JPG, Streetside façade File:Villa schifanoia, ext., lapide pio xii.JPG, Plaque commemorating the dedication by Pope Pius XII File:Villa schifanoia, cappella 01.JPG, 19th-century chapel File:Villa schifanoia, cappella, interno 01.JPG, Chapel interior, converted into a conference room File:Villa schifanoia, giardino, seconda terrazza inferiore 03.JPG, Monumental stairs File:Villa schifanoia, vialetto con statue.JPG, Ornamental statues File:Schifanoia arms.jpg, Coat of arms File:Villa schifanoia, ext., busto.JPG, Marble bust File:Schifanoia MainHall.jpg, Main hall or ''Sala Bandiere'' File:Schifanoia Door1.jpg, Renaissance-era doorway in the main hall File:Schifanoia Door2.jpg, Renaissance-era doorway in the main hall File:Schifanoia Chimney.jpg, Renaissance-era chimney mantle in ''Sala Europa'' File:Schifanoia Ceiling.jpg, Carved chimney and painted ceiling in ''Sala Triaria'' File:Schifanoia Loggia.jpg, ''Sala Belvedere'' conference room in former loggia

References

External links

* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Fiesole Schifanoia Schifanoia Schifanoia Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan City of Florence Historic houses European University Institute buildings