Page 9 - Reside Magazine Briggs Freeman

Reside — Fall 2025

For many of these Tuscan homes, of the incredible creativity left behind Vineyard views
decoration wasn’t something simply carried by their one-time guests.
through the door and nailed to a wall. Though time has also made its mark This walled estate in the heart of
The artwork was intrinsic. In Florence’s in the form of fading pigments and worn Chianti country has occupied its
Gerini Palace, allegorical frescoes by the stone, what remains is no less moving. At hilltop spot for more than 800
Renaissance master Bernardino Poccetti Castello Sonnino, whose interiors grace years—and will stand for many more.
stretch across ceilings and archways, the book’s cover, a bucolic scene comes Past guests including Renaissance
seamlessly woven into the fabric of the to life: rolling hills, colorful birds and stargazer, Galileo, enjoyed this
architecture, while in the 16th-century streams flowing into painted waterfalls. same view over a valley of vineyards,
Dati Baldovinetti residence, gilded stucco It’s almost as if the views beyond the olive groves and a line of medieval
detailing frames heroic Romanesque shuttered windows of these homes castles that were once part of
imagery of monuments and statues. weren’t enough. Their interiors had to Siena’s military defense. The oldest
The presence of these artworks echo that grandeur, layered with myth parts of the building date to 1200,
reveals more than just the owners’ elevated and imagination to mesmerizing effect. while the whole property—with
taste. It speaks to the artists and artisans Laura May Todd is Milan editor of 15 bedrooms across four buildings
who flourished in Tuscany in the 15th and Wallpaper* magazine —was sensitively restored in 2008,
16th centuries. Aristocratic patrons often including the consecrated church.
hosted painters, poets and scholars in their “Tuscan Rooms: Interiors from the A sheltered “limonaia”, designed
homes in exchange for works, and many Heartland of the Renaissance” is to protect citrus trees in winter,
rooms in this book still bear the results published by Rizzoli in September now makes for an ideal event space.
Set in more than 24 acres, the
property includes lawns, a 25-meter
swimming pool and a large outdoor
dining area complete with pergola.
Opposite: An elegant antique In close reach of Siena and only an
sofa and painted fresco in the
living room of the 16th-century hour’s drive from Florence, this is the
Villa I Collazzi Tuscan dream without compromise.
Left: The walls of Villa Cetinale,
built in 1680 by Cardinal Flavio
Chigi, the nephew of Pope
Alexander VII
Price upon request
Property ID: CW6H7H
sothebysrealty.com
Italy Sotheby’s International Realty
Francesca Loddo
+39 055 0751880
+39 055 0751888

Photos: © Antonio Monfreda.

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