Cittadini in Villa in Cerreto Guidi

Cerreto Guidi, in the heart of Tuscany, situated close to the great cities of art like Florence, Siena and Pisa, has the fortune of boasting historic buildings and prestigious works. The Medici villa ordered by Cosimo I between 1564 and 1567, home to the Museo Storico della Caccia e del Territorio (Historic Museum of Hunting and the Area), where the majority of the restored works of the Bardini Collection have been on show since 2004, is the most important architectural element in Cerreto Guidi where the church of S. Leonardo, the sanctuary of S. Liberata and the oratory of SS. Trinità stand out. Until 3 October there’s another reason to discover Cerreto Guidi, given that the villa hosts the exhibition Per utilità e per diletto. Cittadini in Villa (For utility and for delight. Citizens in the villa). The exhibition begins with the early Renaissance through to the bourgeois dimension of nineteenth-century villeggiatura (holidaying in a country home). You can see a series of works from the collections of the Polo Museale Fiorentino, which intend to explore the aspects of the sojourn of the rich Florentines in the country villas. These long and serene breaks also became useful periods when gentlemen devoted time and energy to their land. In addition to the cultivation of the land and investing in it, the well-off were involved in the renovation or new construction of country villas and stately homes were therefore equipped with the characteristics suited to carrying out the preferred leisure activities such as hunting, banquets, parties, games, music and theatre. In the exhibition you can admire paintings, musical instruments, snuff boxes, sedan chairs, walking clothes from the collections of the Galleria del Costume (Costume Gallery) and two rare chocolate cups from the mid seventeenth century. These luxurious furnishings recall the holidaying of the Florentine aristocracy in a setting of idyllic and rural beauty. Six magnificent sixteenth-century tapestries are also on show, designed by Stradano, which depict the cycle of the seasons. The hunting that went on is testified by a set of refined arms and portraits of noble hunters.

Information: Until 3 October 2010
Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 8:15 am 7 pm
Closed 2nd and 3rd Monday of the month

No entrance fee
Info: Firenze Musei
Phone: 055 290383



(Portions of this article first appeared in "Toscana & Chianti News")
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