Villa di Maiano
| La Villa di Maiano | |
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| General information | |
| Location |
 Fiesole, Italy |
| Coordinates | 43°47′35.35″N 11°18′13.22″E / 43.7931528°N 11.3036722°ECoordinates: 43°47′35.35″N 11°18′13.22″E / 43.7931528°N 11.3036722°E |
The Villa Maiano is at Via del Saviatino 1 in the Maiano area at Fiesole near Florence, Italy.
The original "palagio di Maiano" was battered in 1467 by a hurricane, so much so that the then owner, Bartolomeo degli Alessandri, in order to handle his debts had to sell the entire complex with the large surrounding estate. In the first half of the 16th century it came to the Sforza, and then to the Buonagrazia. In 1546, it was owned by the Pazzi, and it was here that Caterina, the future Santa Maria Maddalena die Pazzi, was born.
In the 18th century, the noble line of the Pazzi ended with Luigi di Cosimo, and the villa then came to Gucci Tolomei before becoming the property of John Temple Leader, who bought it in 1850 "with closed gate"; that is to say, with all its contents.
The eclectic English politician made the villa his residence and the center of his affairs, beginning with the overall renovation of the area, which would reach its peak in the neo-Gothic conversion of the nearby Vincigliata Castle.
The architect Felice Francolini worked for Temple Leader on the Villa Maiano. Respecting the 15th century appearance of the property, he began an overall alteration with some fairly radical aspects such as the raising of the ground floor and the addition of a central keep in the Gothic style with a loggia (similar, for example, to that of the Villa Petraia).
The central courtyard was transformed into a large neo-renaissance ballroom, furnished with original pieces of the villa or specially commissioned from local artisans. The final phase was the construction of the private chapel, located on the north side of the villa between 1863 and 1864. The small chapel was built to a design by Joseph Francelli, who was the son of John Temple Leader factor and a descendant of a family of other members distinguished themselves in the field of art. The Francelli created an intimate environment with a single nave separated from the body of the villa and with the decoration of shop windows of prestigious Ulysses de Matteis.
The villa had many famous guests, including Queen Victoria, who in 1893 made a few sketches of the pond for her album of memories.
With the death of leaders in 1903 all his property passed to his nephew Richard Bethell, Lord Westbury, who sold the villa to the surgeon Teodoro Stori in 1917. The descendants of his wife, Elizabeth Corsini are the current owners of the villa, which is why it is also sometimes referred to as Villa Corsini Majano.
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Wikipedia