Villa Mondeggi

Villa Mondeggi was part of a large farm that stretched over 196 hectares between the cities of Bagno a Ripoli, Greve and Figline Valdarno, and included a manor house, chapel and garden complete with the old gardener’s house. 

 

The name Mondeggi was probably taken from the toponym of Monteggi, which refers to the topography of the area characterized by the presence of small mountains and hills. 

 

The Villa Mondeggi‘s holdings were first mentioned in documents from the Badia di San Casciano Montescalari monks. Numerous gardens, some of them hanging, encircle the building and are further enhanced by basins fed by jets of water sourced from the Medici Villa Lappeggi cistern. 

 

The many fountains that populate the garden can still be enjoyed today. In fact several types of water-based elements, which use several different sources, can be found. The fountains predominantly feature circular basins, small in size, and are typically completed by some sort of central sculptural element from which jets of water shoot out. 

The first basin one encounters, located to the right of the Villa, is located in front of the Oratory (18th century). The fountain includes, in addition to the central jet of water, additional nozzles that have been positioned around the perimeter of the circular basin as to create a circumference of water that envelopes the entire sculpture to then explode into many jets of water.

This post is also available in: Italian