Villa La Petraia is one of the Medici villas in Castello, Florence , Tuscany , central Italy . It has a distinctive 19th-century belvedere on the upper east terrace on axis with the view of Florence.
8-551: In 1364, the "palace" of Petraia belonged to the Brunelleschi family until in 1422 Palla Strozzi bought it and expanded it by buying the surrounding land. In the first half of the sixteenth century, the villa became the property of the Salutati, who then sold the villa to Cosimo I de' Medici in 1544, who gave it to his son, Cardinal Ferdinando in 1568. Then from 1588, there was a decade of extensive excavation works which transformed
16-427: A banking firm with a capital of 45,000 florins, and communal bonds. Despite his abundant wealth, Strozzi lived well beyond his means and had little interest in his family’s banking business, which would help lead to his eventual economic and political downfall in the later half of the 15th century. In his sixties, together with Rinaldo degli Albizzi , he became the leader of the opposition against Cosimo de' Medici ,
24-717: A large palace in 1480. He died in 1462, leaving his collection to the Abbey of Santa Giustina . As patron of the arts, he was commissioner of Gentile da Fabriano 's Adoration of the Magi in the Strozzi Chapel of Santa Trinita church in Florence. He additionally commissioned Fra Angelico 's Deposition of Christ in the Sacristy of Santa Trinita in Florence. He is said to have bought manuscripts from Greece, and had translated into Italian, for
32-492: Is now a museum. In 2014 a new permanent gallery at Petraia Villa Medici was opened to display the 14 surviving paintings of Medici villas by Giusto Utens (previously held by the Museo di Firenze com'era ). [REDACTED] Media related to Villa La Petraia at Wikimedia Commons Palla Strozzi Palla di Onofrio Strozzi (1372 – 8 May 1462) was an Italian banker, politician, writer, philosopher and philologist. He
40-500: The "stony" nature of the place (hence the name in Petraia, that is full of stones) into dramatic sequence of terraces dominated by the massive main building. It is traditionally attributed to Bernardo Buontalenti , even though the only documented certainty is the presence on site of Raphael Pagni. The Villa remained in the ownership of the Medici family until their extinction, when it passed to
48-627: The Grand Dukes of Habsburg-Lorraine. Leopold II laid out the Romantic style garden park to the north, but otherwise few changes were made. From 1860 the estate came into the ownership of the House of Savoy , becoming one of Victor Emmanuel II 's favourite residences. During this time the central courtyard was given a glass roof and an aviary was constructed. The villa was transferred to the Italian state in 1919 and
56-452: The man who practically controlled the political power in Florence. Initially successful, the two secured the imprisonment of Cosimo, forcing him into exile in 1433. However, when Cosimo returned, both the Strozzi and Albizzi families were exiled in turn. In 1434, Strozzi moved to Padua , where he started to plan a return to his native city. He was never able to return, though his son did and built
64-578: Was born in Florence into the rich banking family of the Strozzi . He was educated by humanists, learning Greek and Latin, and establishing an important collection of rare books. Vespasiano, in his Lives of illustrious men of the 15th century described him as rich, handsome, a family man, a scholar, and a great builder and collector. Palla Strozzi was the richest man in Florence with a gross taxable assets of 162,925 florins in 1427, including 54 farms, 30 houses,
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