Villa La CertosaItaly, Tuscany, Florence

Dating back to the 15th Century this villa sits at the end of a cypress tree-lined driveway on the southern hills of Florence and immersed in the spectacular countryside that surrounds the famous city. Its location, just a ten-minute drive from the city, yet offering all of the benefits, comfort, and beauty of a fine countryside residence, is one of its truly unique points. It is, without doubt, the closest villa to Florence in terms of villas of its stature.

The layout of the villa is typical of aristocratic renaissance villas. It is centered around a paved courtyard, surrounded by formal gardens, and set in a productive agricultural landscape. The villa itself measures 1,000 square meters and sleeps up to fourteen guests in seven bedrooms.

The villa sits in an eleven hectare park surrounded by a quintessential Tuscan landscape of olive groves and rolling, picturesque hills. A lake lies beyond the olive grove which provides water to the wildlife and the property’s gardens. Given the size of the park, there are a number of appropriate landing sites for guests arriving by helicopter. The villa is surrounded by two beautiful and peaceful gardens. On one side lies the Porcinai Garden which contains the swimming pool, named after the renowned landscape and garden designer Pietro Porcinai. On the other side of the villa lies the Cedar garden, named after the 300 year old Lebanon Cedar that forms the centre point of the garden.