Medicean Park of Pratolino (Villa Demidoff)
In the nearby of Mugello
From 2013 Villa di Pratolino is a Unesco World Heritage Centre
Between Mugello and Florence, we find the big estate of the Medicean Park of Pratolino.
The estate was bought in 1568 by Grand Duke Francesco I de' Medici who entrusted Buontalenti with the task of transforming it into a villa.
Left in ruins by Austrian Lorena Family, the villa was demolished and the park landscaped into an English style garden, in 1824.
Sometime later, in 1872, the complex was sold to the Russian Prince, Paolo Demidoff, who turned the building into the existing viilla Demidoff. On August 4, 1981, the complex was bought by the Province of Florence for public use.
The park is magnificent, and in it are the remains of artificial caves and fountains.
Of the original Renaissance structure what is left today is the colossal statue-fountain of the Apennine by Giambologna with the adjacent lake, the statue of the Mugnone, the hexagonal chapel designed by Buontalenti, the big Sponge Stone, the square of Zampilli and the transformed Jupiter fountain and the big Aviary.
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