Florence, Countrysides' Medici Villas

If you are fascinated by the history of Italy's most famous family, the Medici, in less than 30 minutes by car from Florence you can reach two of the 14 Medici Villas, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This itinerary combines art, history and nature. We will visit the Park and the Villa della Petraia and the Park of Villa Castello. Built between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, they were first created by Cosimo the Elder, the great banker, and were conceived as summer residences. Surrounded by beautiful Italian gardens with flowers, dwarf fruit trees and citrus fruits and woods of centuries-old holm oaks for hunting. Rural life was also enlivened by small lakes for fishing and summer bathing thanks to the countless springs of water. These villas have been the source of famous paintings, such as Botticelli's Venus and Primavera, which can now be seen in the Uffizi Gallery. From these summer residences, the Medici family could govern their city, demonstrating their power and prestige.