Villa Medici, Renaissance hunting villa in Cerreto Guidi, Italy
Villa Medici is a Renaissance residence sitting on a hilltop in Cerreto Guidi, built with symmetrical brick construction and featuring two large zigzag staircases. These staircases connect the building directly to the town square below and form the distinctive architectural element of the property.
Construction started in 1555 under Cosimo I de Medici on a hilltop where a former castle of the Guidi Counts once stood, with its materials being reused. The building later witnessed events that would tie it to significant chapters in the family's story.
The rooms where the Medici family lived still display Renaissance paintings and furnishings that show how nobility lived during that era. Visitors can see the artworks and objects that surrounded the family in their daily life.
The building sits on a hilltop and is best reached by climbing the staircases from the town square below. Comfortable shoes are recommended since the terrain is steep and involves significant climbing.
Isabella de Medici died within these walls in 1576 under circumstances that remain unclear to historians. Her death has been the subject of centuries of speculation and mystery.
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