Villa Salviatino, Maiano, Renaissance villa in Fiesole, Italy

Villa Salviatino stands at the foot of the Maiano hill on via del Salviatino 21, just before the Florence boundary. Its facade keeps a six-arch loggia with three arches on the sides and stone-serena balustrades, while the top floor is a later addition. The formal garden has been rebuilt, with greenhouses and a parterre reached past a shaded entrance avenue, its paths paved in polychrome cobblestones.

A modest 14th-century farmhouse bought by the Bardi bankers in 1427 and rebuilt as a palazzo, it was renamed Palagio dei Tegliacci after its 1447 sale to Nicola Tegliacci. Alamanno Salviati acquired it in 1531 and had it frescoed, giving it the name Il Salviatino to distinguish it from Villa Salviati. From 1973 to 1987 Stanford University ran its Italy program here.

The villa takes its name from Alamanno Salviati, who bought it in 1531 and had it rebuilt, perhaps to a design by Gherardo Silvani; it was called "il Salviatino" to distinguish it from the larger Villa Salviati on via Bolognese. Francesco Redi celebrated it in Bacco in Toscana (1685): "Fiesole viva, eterno viva il nome / del buon Salviati e del suo bel Maiano".

The property offers organized shuttle service to Florence, making it easy to reach from the city center without a car. Visitors exploring the surrounding hills should expect steep pathways and the remote hilltop location when planning walks around the grounds.

From 1973 to 1987, Stanford University students lived and studied on the grounds, transforming the historic rooms into classrooms and dormitories. This American chapter left visible marks on how the spaces function and flow today.