villa-poggio-torselliA gate with pillars decorated with “rocaille” forms the striking entrance to the Villa Poggio Torselli. It was built on the site of Medieval houses belonging to the Cattani da Casavecchia. In the last quarter of the 17th century the Orlandini del Beccuto family commissioned the architect Lorenzo Merlini to reconstruct and enlarge the villa, transforming it into a grand building in restrained Florentine Baroque taste.The facade is decorated by pilaster strips and pietra serena mouldings around the windows. The ornamentation becomes livelier in the central part of the facade, which is slightly protruding and crowned by terracotta statues of the Four Seasons, and accentuates the beautiful main doorway. The architect chose more elaborate designs for the interior of the villa, such as the stuccoes of the fireplaces, the decorations around doorways and the frescoed ceilings, some of which are by Pier Dandini, an artist favored by Florentine patrons at the end of the 17th century. A monumental stairway leads to the upper floor. Some of the bedrooms bear the names of cardinals who stayed at the villa while accompanying Pope Plus Vll on his journey to Paris to crown Napoleon in 1804. The rear looks out onto the beautiful Italian garden, which opens onto the Greve valley. Boxwood hedges divide the space, framing geometric flower-beds. A recent careful restoration has brought the garden back to its 18th century splendor, the stone irrigation system has been re-established and many varieties of old roses and herbs have been planted.
Villa Poggio Torselli and its gardens can be visited by groups of a minimum of 25 people. Booking, by telephone or e-mail, is required. A team of expert agronomists and oenologists have renovated the estate’s vineyards, employing modern viticultural techniques; the estate also produces excellent olive oil. The villa has been classified as a national monument.
Address: Via degli Scopeti,10 – 50026 Sun Casciano Val di Pesa (FI) Phone: +39 055 211232 or 8290241 e-mail: info@poggiotorselli.it – poggiotorselli@telematicaitalia.it – www.poggiotorselli.it

Casavecchia

Further along via degli Scopeti, a small 17th century road-side chapel marks she entrance to Villa Casavecchia. This sober Renaissance building was purchased in 1488 by Giovanni Pelli, a rich Florentine merchant who helped Lorenzo the Magnificent find refuge in the sacristy of the Florence Cathedral during the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478. 0n the opposite side of the road, an unpaved road leads to Santa Maria di Casavecchia. The church and the castle dominating the Greve valley were owned in 1093 by the da Casavecchia family, whose shield, with fleur-de-lys, decorates the church’s simple facade. With the decline of the da Casavecchia line patronage of the church passed on to Andrea Pitti, whose coat-of-arms was added in 1675, and sub-sequently to the Olivetan monks. On the High Altar is a glazed terracotta bas-relief depicting the Assumption of the Virgin, executed in the Buglioni workshop for the Casavecchia around 1515. Their coat-of-arms appears again on the pietra serena pulpit, dated to the end of 16th century, but the family name is covered by a more re-cent inscription. The confessionals, dated 1697, bear the name of the prior Giuseppe de’Giustarini. On the right altar is a fragment of a fresco with a Crucifixion and the figure of Saint George, by an early 16th century follower of Ghirlandaio.

Spedaletto

After Casavecchia, the road crosses Spedaletto. The village’s name is the only remaining trace of the pilgrims’ hospital of San Lorenzo a Percussina, first mentioned in the 12th century and dissolved in 1597. ln 1376 the Machiavelli endowed the hospital wish a revenue, on the condition that the hospital administrator be a member of their family.

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