Tuscany, Florence, Borgo San Lorenzo, Italy

Majestic sixteenth-century villa of about 1,200 square meters built on an ancient medieval fortress placed to control the adjacent Via di Valico that belonged to the powerful feudal family Ubaldini della Pila, mentioned by Dante in the Divina Commedia. Subsequently, the villa changes hands and after a few generations it arrives in the hands of the Gucci family who restores the splendid wooden coffered ceilings, the mosaic terracotta floors, the serena stone fireplaces with bas-reliefs, and with which it finds its maximum splendor. Vintage photos depict grass-juice tapestries, the chiaroscuro of the large seventeenth-century paintings, important furnishings. The appearance is typical of a sixteenth-century Tuscan villa, with large upper windows that enlighten the large bedrooms with canopy beds. Under the windowsills you can still see the boxes with slits used in ancient times for carrier pigeons.

The property includes nine farmhouses for a total of 2,000 square meters, a stone swimming pool, tennis courts, a small orangerie and two lakes. In this extraordinary architectural complex there are also some ancient stables, a dressage court and a seventeenth-century chapel.

Of the 132 total hectares of the estate, 75 constitute a large hunting reserve in which it is possible to hunt all year round: the estate is the natural habitat of pigeons, pheasants, hares, roe deers and wild boars. Another 32 hectares of land are arable.

In addition to being a private residence, once restored, this period mansion lends itself perfectly to becoming a club house, a luxury resort, at just a few kilometers from Fiesole and Florence. In fact, there is an approved plan for conversion into accommodation facilities with an expansion that will allow the construction of 8 ecological and eco-sustainable country villas of approximately 190 sq.m. each, on a single level, as well as the complete renovation of the three existing farmhouses and the main villa with the possibility to enlarge the windows.