Medici splendour - Restoring a Medici Villa
The magic begins from the moment the electric gates gently open and usher you into the beautiful estate of the Villa Medicea, in the completely unspoiled region of Arena Metato in Tuscany, just a five-minute drive from the beautiful city of Pisa. A short walk through the manicured parkland surrounding the imposing villa, with an abundance of magnolia and oak, pine and fruit trees, reveals the building’s impressive facade built in perfect Florentine style. A massive 40 metres wide and 20 metres deep, the facade has spacious windows framed with pietra serena (river stone). The centrepiece, at the entrance, is a beautiful coat of arms of the Medici family carved from Carrara marble. The 16th- century house itself is a rare example of only a handful of such villas in the province of Pisa to have been built and inhabited by the famous Medici family, rulers of Florence until around 1700.
Since 1974 the Villa Medicea has been the magnificent home of university professor Riccardo Cerretti and his wife Silvana Piacentino, a marketing executive. They have meticulously restored it to its antique splendour while bringing up their four children there.
A Suitable Mansion Both the Medici family and the property share a rich, dramatic history. Guilio de Medici (1532-1600), who originally commissioned the building of the villa, was the son of Alessandro de Medici, Duke of Florence and the great grand-nephew of Lorenzo il Magnifico. Guilio was five years old when his father was assassinated and had to disappear for some years under the protection of his uncle Cardinal Innocenzo Cybo to avoid the same happening to him. Once grown up, Giulio was appointed First Admiral of the Medicean Fleet by Cosimo I, then the Duke of Florence, and sent to Pisa. Looking for a suitable mansion he found, among the estate properties of his family, a vast area of fertile land near Pisa, in an ancient village called Arena, just alongside the river Serchio. It was there that Giulio decided to build the villa. Riccardo and Silvana bought the house from Antonio Federighi, whose family had owned it since 1854. The two huge floors contain a total of 19 main rooms including seven magnificent bedrooms in addition to various bathrooms and utility rooms.
