The Villa

Villa Bardini first saw the light of day as Villa Manadora in 1641. Built by the architect Gherardo Silvani (1579-1675) for his friend Francesco Manadori (1577-1656) on an existing medieval structure, it soon became known as Villa Belvedere thanks to its splendid panoramic position.
The building recalls the “Pleasaunces”, common in Florence between the turn of the 16th century and the mid-17th century, intended for the pleasure of the nobility and surrounded by farmland designed to be not simply productive but also ornamental.
Villa Belvedere was subsequently owned by the Cambiagi family, and then by Luigi Le Blanc and his son Giacomo in the early 19th century. After the property was completely reunited, the Villa was acquired by the Mozzi family in 1839 and then by the Carolath von Beuthen family in 1880.
Florentine antique dealer Stefano Bardini bought it in 1913 and the Bardini family continued to live there until 1965, when Stefano’s son Ugo died heirless. Ugo left the property to the Helvetic Confederation, which rejected the donation, and it passed to the Italian state in 1987.