THE MEDICI VILLA OF LORENZO THE MAGNIFICET,

THE MEDICI VILLA OF LORENZOTHE MAGNIFICET, POGGIO A CAIANOGiovanni Stradano "Eleonora da Toledo reaches Poggio a Caiano from Naples for her marriage " - Florence Palazzo Vecchio.CITY OF POGGIO A CAIANOTHE TOURIST DEPARTMENTIN COLLABORATION WITH:THE TOURIST ASSOTAT1ONPRO - LOCO POGGIO A CAIANO

Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano - Panoramic view.MEDICI VILLAINSIDELahler from Piemonte (1865) in honour of thereigning house. The decoration program clearlyaims to the celebration of the personality of thenew inhabitant of the Villa, the first King of Italyas described in the inscription. The King's passionfor hunting is also represented in the still lifenature which is shown as hunting trophees.The decoration of the interior of the Villa as wellas the furniture of most of the rooms reflect theSavoia's laste. In fact , after the unity of Italy in1865 and the transfer of the capitai to Florence,King Vittorio Emanuele II chose the Villa as bisfavourite country residence and applied hispersonal taste in the redecorating of many of therooms.GROUND FLOOR:A - Portico and facade.The four sarcophagus which have been placedunder the loggia date back to Roman times (IIndand IIIrd centrury A.D.: we can only suppose thatthey belonged to the Medici's collections, sincethey are not part of the inventory and have nohistrical reference except for the sarcophagusfiguring the procession of Dionisi which wasused for several centuries as a fountain basin in thegarden of the Villa).1-EntranceThe barrel vault of the outside atrium is decoratedin neo-Renaissance manner and leads into theentrance hall on the ground floor. A stone tablet onthe wall recalls the beginning of the works ofredecorating which were carried out under thedirection of the Architect AntonioTheatre.2-TheatreThe first mention of a "Commedy Theatre" insidethe Villa datesi 697.It was Margherita Luisa of Orleans, wife ofCosimo III,who decided to use this room as atheatre during her stay at the Villa after theseparation from her husband.But the theatrical activity became even morelively during the reign of her son, the Great PrinceFerdinando who cultivated ali types of art. Afterhis death the theatre, as well as the resi of the Villa,fell into decay. In fact in 1772 the stage and the

sceneries had to be restored since they had becomepractically useless.As the result of an inventory conducted in 1772,we find the description of the stage and thescenery exactly as it appears today with somedoubts regarding the identity of the scene paintedon the curtain . In any case the classical theme Apollo Musagete intent upon playing a lyre,Minerva resting in the shade of a tree and in thebackground Pegaso attempting to take flight reconducts the works to a group of French artists,very active in Tuscany in the late 1700's. Duringthe visits to the Villa in the autumn months,the court of the Great Duke used the theatremainly for play s and musical exhibitions.However, during the entire reign of Maria Luigiaof Borbone, the theatre was not used while at thebeginning of the 1800's a small mobile scenerywas installed in the main room on the first floor. In1809, with the arrivai of Luisa Baciocchi(Napoleon's sister) , the theatrical activity totallyrcsumed and it is probably on this occasion thatthe ground floor theatre was reopened.accompany religious services, at first in the chapelof the Villa of Lappeggi (1732) and afterwardsfrom 1786 in the chapel of the Medici Villa ofPoggio. The organ was removed from the chapelin the 1980's for restoration and for many yearswas exposed in the Gallery of the Pitti Palace inFlorence. In 1996 the organ was placed back in thetheatre of the Villa not only because the chapelwas not the correct envoirment for such a preciousinstrument but also to restore its " profane" role.3 - Biliard Room.The decoration of this room is one of the mostinteresting works of the Savoy period. Between1865 and 1871 a large group of artists andarchitects on appointment of the Savoys carriedout many decorative works inside the Villa. One ofthese artists was Domenico Ferri who carried outthe decoration of this room. The scene shows agroup of cheerful children at play and it also seemsto recali the months of the year especially in thefigures of twelve couples of puttos in the lunettesduring various moments of farm life.The organ.Bianca Cappello'» Apartment.According to tradition the Northeast wing of theground floor was the apartment of the nobleVenetian woman, lover of Francesco I de' Medici,Bianca Cappello. After the death of Francesco'swife, Giovanna d'Austria, she became his secondwife and the Villa was their favourite residence.The Organ - This is a rare and preciousinstrument designed by Lorenzo Testa, a Roman,and dates 1703. It is one of the rare musicalinstruments of Medici origin which has survivedand most certainly was used for the musicalactivity promoted by Prince Ferdinando who washimself an excellent cymbal player. After hisdeath in 1713, the organ was only used toBiana Cappello s Apartment.

Their contrasted love tragically carne to an endright here in the Villa on October 19th 1587a fewhours apart from each other. The legend speaks ofpoisoning while more likely their death wascaused by an illness.4 - Sitting RoomThe decoration of the ceiling vault is stili theoriginai one, of the times of Bianca Capello, and iscertainly a splendid example of late Renaissancedecorating. Just recently the design of thestaircase on one side of the room has beenattributed to Giorgio Vasari. The monumentaifireplace also dates back to the second half of the1500's. This is in white marble and is attributed totwo artists: Buontalenti and Ammannati. TheMedici coat of arms in the center of the ceiling aswell as the decoration of the side walls was carriedout under the Savoy in the second half of the1800's.The sitting parlour leads on to Bianca Capello'sbedroom, redecorated and restored in true lateRenaissance style not only for the walldecorations but especially for the furnishings.B - Monumentai Staircase.This staircase and its decorations were carried outbetween 1809-1810 as one can see from its neoclassica! style. This large staircase was built toconnect the ground floor to the upper floors and toreplace the use of the smaller internal staircasesexisting in the Villa.FIRST FLOOR:5 - Reception and Main Entrance.The greeting of guests and officiai visitorsarriving at the Villa look piace in this room on thefirst floor of the Villa which is also known as thenoble floor. The decoration of the walls of thisroom belong to the painter Luigi Catani (17621840)they celebrate the connection between Lorenzoand his Villa: Lorenzo the Magnificent receives amodel of the Villa from Giuliano da Sangallo andAgnolo Poliziano crowning the head of Homerwith bay leaf.C-Theoutdoor Colonnade Portico.The fresco by Filippino Lippi is on the east wall ofthe outdoor loggia and represents "Laoconte'sSacrifice". This fresco (around 1494) which wasleft unfinished by the author and unfortunately isin poor state of conservation, was detached fromthe wall for restoration and was later placed backin its originai position. The vault which covers theportico was carried out around 1495 according toGiuliano da Sangallo's design. It is one of the firstexamples Renaissance concretion vaults.Thismeans it is obtained by a moulding of mali on amodelled case divided into sections. This is takenfrom Roman examples, such as the Pantheon inRome and the one in the great baths of VillaAdrianainTivoli.Filippino Lippi " Laocoonte’s sacrifice ", fresco.6 - The Freize.The freize in glazed terracotta was removed fromthe facade to undergo restoration after which itwas displayed in this room to avoid furtherdetoriation. A copy carried out by the art instituteof the Richard Ginori porcelain factory in SestoFiorentinowas set up in its originai position on the facade ofthe Villa. Since a documentation regarding thefreize is missing there are many doubts regardingthe period it dates back to as well as the meaningof the images. It is generally agreed that the authoris Andrea Sansovino (1460 - 1529) who carriedouttheworkduringhis youth under the supervision of Giulianoda Sangallo. However others attribute it toBertoldo di Giovanni (master of youngMichelangelo). In recent times the critic has alsosupposed the work was carried out in twodifferent periods, initially under Lorenzo theMagnificent and later on under his son, Pope LeoX. The freize is divided in five episodes where thetheme is an allegory of mythical, cosmic and

PLAN OF THE GROUND FLOOR LEGENDAPortico and facade BMonumental Staircase1 Entrance2 Theatre3 Biliard Room4 Sitting Room

PLAN OF THE FIRST FLOORLEGENDC The outdoor ColonnadePortico5 Reception and Main Entrance6 The Freize7 Hall of Leo X8 The Dinig Room9 Main Sitting Room10 Small Sitting Parlour11 Bathroom12 Bedroom13 Reception Room14 Bedroom15 King Vittorio Emanuele'sCamp Bedroom16 Parlour - Studio17 Parlour - ex bedroom

Andrea Sansovino, and assistants,gtazed terracotta freìse,particularofthe fìfth pane/, "The rising oftheSun charìot ".earthly elements also based on Plato's myth of thestory of the soul, although the celebration of theMedici family is clearly visible.and Lorenzo the Magnificent, was interrupted atthe death of Leo X (1521) and was completednearly sixtyyears later (1578-1582) by Alessandro Allori onappointment of Francesco I. Allori filled in thescenes with figures and inserted large images ofallegorie virtues along the upper part ofthe walls.He also created architectural partitions thusgiving more scenographic effects to the entireroom.Starting from your right on entering the hall :Alessandro Allori "The council Flaminio speaksto the Achei council" This refers to the speechgiven by Lorenzo the Magnificent during hisparticipation in the Diet of Cremona. Proceedingvirtues: Justice, Virtù, Pity also by Allori.Pontormo, "Lunette depictìng Vertumnus andPomona".7-HallofLeoXThe display ofthe noble floor is centered aroundthe Hall of Leo X, since this room leads to theother main rooms and on the sides faces theexterior.The main hall ofthe Villa with its centrai positionhighly celebrates the Medici family through theworks of Franciabigio, Andrea del Sarto andPontormo by the wish of Leo X between 1519 and1521.The decorative program, where episodes fromRoman history recali and refer to gloriousmoments ofthe politicai life of Cosimo the ElderA. Allori, "The Numidia King Syphax receives Scipio ".In the lunette " Vertumno and Pomona" by JacopoCarnicci also knownas Pontormo (1494-1556).This fresco in the lunette portrays the ruraldivinities Vertumno and Pomona surrounded by a