I was very honoured to feature among qualified bloggers to join the BTO 2012 educational tour at Villa di Maiano in Fiesole, Florence.
This villa is just 5 km from the Duomo, which seems unbelievable to reckon, when you reach for the place surrounded by olive trees, woods and a perfectly combed countryside marked off in the distance by Florence skyline.
Villa di Maiano belonged to the Pazzi-Alessandri families in the Renaissance, but passed to a noble English man, called Sir John Temple Leader, in 1850. He made several changes to the villa, but most of all restored the whole surrounding landascape, which was mainly rocky place of quarries for the Medici family artworks and buildings. He designed the present gardens and woods, which makes the hills of Fiesole such a charming environment these days.
One of the major highlights is the charming “Laghetto delle Colonne” (Pillar's lake), situated at the heart of the hills at the back of the villa, whose name celebrates the quarry which provided the columns for the church of San Lorenzo in Florence. Sir Temple Leader converted the quarry and its working trails into a neo-classical pathway, which was sketched by Queen Victoria while staying at villa. At that time, only queens or noble guests could attempt to visit such charming spots and entertain themselves in artistic hobbies. A memorial in the villa reminds of the event and a copy of the drawing is kept in the private library of Countess Corsini, present owner of the whole estate.
Today the same tour can be held during the day or at night by Jeep 4x4 allowing anybody, not just kings or queens, to get into the wilderness and admire such amenities.
It seems the villa has a subtle connection with the English Royal family, including the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, among its guests. A nice picture with inscription is showing on the mantelpiece of Lord Temple's library.
The villa in particular still holds the vibe of a XIX century dwelling, including the welcoming Count Miari Fulcis, in his very-English hat and attire.
The picture is taken in front of room 5, as it is supposed to be in the movie "A room with a view", which was shot here in 1986. "The troupe", said Count Miari Fulcis " put down roots here for around 40 days during which they felt as if at home. They should not go around searching for antiques...what they needed, we provided...like when my mum fetched some old luggages in the loft to be used while shooting one of the scenes..."
The tour of upper floor of the villa is indeed amazing, collecting some very unique memorabilia.
Among these, I cannot miss to tell you how proud I was when I found a picture of some ladies and their kiddies (I found out to be Countess Corsini's aunties) on June 15th, 1897 on the beach in Viareggio! When yet it was the favourite summer spot for the Italian aristocracy...The Palazzo delle Muse in the background is pretty much the same as today...
The villa estate has now embedded a larger borough which is made of holiday apartments, the organic farm, the frantoio (olive mill), a restaurant with stunning view of Florence, the olive groves and a wide portion of cypress trees, colourful forest.
Apart from being a vacation resort, the farm welcomes student's visits, tasting events and tours, whether the villa is yet a magical location for weddings and ceremonies.
I left Fattoria di Maiano in a Autumn rainy day with the feeling I will go back, sit in a corner of the Pillar's lake and sketch my view, as though Queen Victoria did a while ago...
For more info about the villa, also read on Valetina Dainelli's post: http://www.toomuchtuscany.com/a-room-with-a-view-over-florence/
For the olive mill experience and Laudemio EVOO tasting read on Georgette Jupe's post:
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