Villa Peyron

Villa Peyron

Looking at Villa Peyron, you will perceive a sense of harmony between artifice and nature, a place identified by a symbiotic relationship between the natural landscape and built environment.

The Villa, also called Villa Il Bosco di Fontelucente because of the spring from which it derives the water that feeds the numerous fountains and ponds, offers an extraordinary view of Florence and the Castel di Poggio, having been built at a strategic point in the hills of Fiesole, above Etruscan-era ruins. The original layout of the villa, surrounded on three sides by a lush forest, dates back to the 16th century.

In 1914, the Villa was purchased by Angelo Peyron, an industrialist of Turin origin who had moved to Tuscany, and was then restored by Ugo Giovannozzi, a Florentine architect and engineer. Attention and care were also reserved for the garden that surrounds it. The green area is laid out on three terraces designed by box hedges and mighty backdrops of cypresses and is adorned with numerous fountains and statues of fine workmanship.

The villa retains unaltered the salon’s precious wooden gallery dating from the period of its construction, ceilings decorated with 19th-century frescoes and historiated stained-glass windows depicting the solar system and zodiac. During a recent restoration, the interior rooms were reorganized for museum purposes, keeping the spirit and character of the furnishings intact. In addition, a large space used as a multipurpose venue for conferences and artistic events was created under the terrace.

In 1998, the complex was donated by Paolo Peyron to the Bardini and Peyron Monumental Parks Foundation, promoted and supported by the CR Firenze Foundation, to safeguard and enhance historic gardens and contribute to the dissemination of environmental values to future generations.