Villa Bardini

Built in the first half of the 17th century by Gherardo Silvani for Francesco Manadori, with superb views over most of Florence, this villa and garden was purchased by the Mozzi family in the 1800s, and then purchased in 1913 by Stefano Bardini at the same time that he bought the palazzo that would house his superb collection of art in the Museo Bardini.

The villa became the property of Stefano's son Ugo, who died without heirs in 1965, sparking a bureaucratic snarl between rival claimants that only ended in 1996 when the Minister of Culture stepped in and declared the Bardinis intended to leave the property to the city. By then, both the villa and its once-beautiful gardens were in dire states of abandonment, until the Savings Bank, the Cassa di Riparmio di Firenze, stepped in to fund the restoration, and the villa opened to the public in 2006.

Today it houses the Bardini Restaurant and Loggia Belvedere café and the Museo Pietro Annigoni. The beautiful Giardino Bardini have a separate admission as part of the Boboli Gardens.

Museo Pietro Annigoni