History of Villa Pitiana

Villa Pitiana is situated at 430m above sea level and its imposing structure divides the last olive groves of Valdarno from the centuries-old trees of the Vallombrosa, near Florence.

On 3rd July 1039 the Abbess Itta of the convent of S. Ellero donated the land in Vallombrosa to S. Giovanni Gualberto but to maintain them had to add a farm with vegetable garden and vines in Pitiana.

In the two subsequent centuries, following various purchases and donations, including that of Matilde di Canossa, the Vallombrosa Abbey came to possess almost all the land between Pratomagno and the Arno river. Pitiana, an old curtis dominica located on the site of today's villa, became one of the four administrative centres of this area.

Due to population increase and the resulting increase in agricultural production, the military role (until 1000 fulfilled by castles) fell to the large fortified farms, as demonstrated by the increasing number of feudal strongholds in Florentine territory which between the 11th and 13th centuries increased from 52 to 205. Halfway through the 13th century Pitiana's strategic position made it a bone of contention in the Florentine Guelph-Ghibelline struggles.

At the time the fortified farms were well-researched architecturally, not the fruit of experience or of the sort of improvisation suitable for farmhouses: the villa reflected the status and wealth of the proprietor, and designs or restorations were entrusted to the best architects and engineers.

Investments in property in this sector were so substantial that even Leon Battista Alberti in the ten books of his De Re Aedificatoria devoted ample space to property owners, in such detail that it remained an architectural-functional reference point until the end of the 18th century.

The oldest part of Villa Pitiana, dating back to the 14th century, is certainly a "casa da signore" as these fortified buildings were called, characterised by the presence of a high tower not unlike the tower-houses of S. Gimignano. This is the part of the villa on your left as you stand with your back to the valley. Pitiana is built in filaretto, a building technique known in French as petit appareil, consisting of rows of little exposed ashlars. The structure includes a massive rectangular tower and two courtyards, the smaller one joining the 19th century part of the building and the other linked to the first by an arched passage, with a portico running along two sides.

The portico is held up by octagonal pillars with rounded-off cubical capitals, holding up curved arches (the external outline of the lintel is acute, probably in keeping with the new architectural style recently introduced by the Cistercian monks). The portico is divided into six spans with low cross vaults and without ribs, also traceable back to the Cistercian geometric matrix based on a hexagram symbolised by the six-pointed star, the shield of David representing the alliance between God and Man. It is well-known that the presence of monks from the abbeys of Vallombrosa and Camaldoli was important for the diffusion of the Cistercian movement in Italy, and confirms the strong monastic presence at the beginning of Pitiana's history. The oldest part of the villa, comparable to other nearby fortified farms like Altomena and Ristonchi and the tower of Castellano, has reached us complete with modifications and considerable restoration work - probably from 1931 - including the reworking of almost all the window frames although traces of the original windows remain in the brickwork.

In the summer of 1483 Lorenzo il Magnifico de' Medici tried in vain to purchase Villa Pitiana from General Biagio Milanesi. His main reason was undoubtedly the financially profitable nature of the Pitiana lands, although the position with its circular view was no less important as it would have allowed the villa to be placed in the network of "transmitters of light" created by the "architect" Lorenzo using his many villas. The pleasant suspicion remains that part of the subsequent extension work could have been based on designs made by Lorenzo and Giuliano da San Gallo during the fruitless negotiations.

From the 15th to the 17th centuries, Tuscan agriculture underwent one of its most difficult periods. Political power was now under the control of merchants and bankers and commercial activity was subsidised to the detriment of farming. In "La bonifica dellla collina tipica toscana da G.B. Landeschi a C. Ridolfi" (The benefits of the typical Tuscan hills from G.B. Landeschi to C. Ridolfi) Francesco Lami writes:

"Possession of land began to be the privilege of the few: conveyance of lands became increasingly difficult; all kinds of servants crowded the fields and the farmers who were increasingly despised; instead of progressing and carrying out new initiatives, the art of farming became inevitably weaker".

Things were different for the sectors of planning and architecture, however. The new lords turned their attention not to the productivity of their land but to pleasure and luxurious ostentation.

The fortified farms became grand villas, the architects studied gardens and the land around the villas became the site of memorable hunting parties. Pitiana was fully involved in this Renaissance: in 1610, as shown by the date on a slab of stone, the rear wing was added with its three-floor facade (the lower floor has windows closed by gratings, the middle floor square windows decorated with moulded pietra serena bases and the upper floor simple, undecorated windows). Although this part incorporates the old cellars below, it shows the new function of the house, drawing closer to its role as the resting place of Vallombrosa monks.

The 17th century part of Villa Pitiana can be compared to the Vallombrosa abbey itself; the right hand part of the latter's facade is also dated at 1610 and is the work of Alfonso Parigi. The construction of Pitiana must also be his work or influenced by him, as there are predominant and austere late Renaissance elements which Parigi, and subsequently Silvani, borrowed from Ammannati and Buontalenti. The project for the villas of Artiminio and Ambrogiana are the work of Buontalenti, and conclude the transformation of fortified farms into villa-farms.

From the same period is the late-Mannerist coat-of-arms with the staff of S. Giovanni Gualberto and the mitre (symbol of the bishopric dignity of the abbot of Vallombrosa) in the larger courtyard of Pitiana.

In the 18th century, as shown by the dates on the two portals, minor modifications were carried out: the pietra serena portal in the small courtyard, decorated with diamond-shaped rustication which leads to the 14th century tower, bears the date 1747 in the keystone. The external portal providing access from the south-east (on the right as you face the facade) to a passage leading to the larger courtyard and the chapel is dated at 1742. This is also the date for the two attractive pietra serena benches in the passageway, and the whole chapel, which is a modest and decorous example of Rococo art, with white stuccoes on coffee-coloured plaster. On the altar, the canvas depicting S. Giovanni Gualberto can be attributed to Ignazio Hugford, author of many works in the abbey of Vallombrosa, thanks to the close relationship between the latter and Pitiana.

When Pietro Leopoldo came to power and the Botanic Society and Georgophile Academy were founded, agriculture became the subject of systematic research and intense public intervention policies.

In "Tuscan Countryside in the 18th century", Ildebrando Imberciadori writes:

"The communes, owners of extensive lands, were ordered to distribute them either by donating them or leasing them permanently for a very small rent to families who would farm them. To reduce the difficulties involved, which were based on lack of money and dwellings, those wanting the lands were to be assigned abandoned houses or provided with money to rent them; to facilitate the construction of new houses, tools and iron were provided at low prices, wood was free and a quarter of theconstruction expenses for rural use only was reimbursed".

An inventory of the assets pertaining to the abbey of Vallombrosa in 1790 shows that the estate of Pitiana included 36 farms, a "watch" house, two kilns and a long list of animals and household goods, leading us to legitimately suppose that the Leopoldian suppressions were not applied thanks to the care and love which the monks put into the running of the property.

In 1808 when Tuscany was annexed to the Napoleonic Empire, the Abbey of Vallombrosa was suppressed and all its possessions including Pitiana were alienated to private owners to replenish the state coffers - except the forest which remained state property.

The church however managed to regain ownership of Pitiana for a brief time. In 1841 Emanuele Repetti in his "Geographical, Physical and Historical Dictionary of Tuscany" states that it was divided between the conventual Franciscan monks of Florence and the lay Brotherhood of Arezzo. The other farm belonging to Pitiana mentioned by Repetti is the one annexed to the church which since 1308 had been the Florentine main hospital of Santa Maria Nuova - possession confirmed in 1558 - and was then handed over to the Jesuits. After the suppression of the Jesuit order halfway through the 18th century it passed into the hands of the noble Pucci family and lastly to the Guicciardini, who still own it today. Later in the 19th century Villa Pitiana must have passed into the possession of the Grottanelli because it is mentioned by this name in many old maps.

Several large Impruneta terracotta jars from this period can still be seen in the larger courtyard and at one time held oil: one of them bears the date 1840; three are the work of Giovanni Vani, one by F.D.S. Nistri and one is signed F.S.N. At the end of the 19th century the Pitiana farm was definitively transformed into a villa with its splendid facade, although the rear part continued until recent times to be a working farm.

The new part is, architecturally speaking, still in the academic style of Renaissance origin influenced by the work designed and carried out in Florence by Giuseppe Poggi towards 1865-70. This conventional style, much admired by the ideologically conservative Tuscan farm property- owning class, was to last for some time, so it is no surprise to find it here applied in 1897 (the date on the lintel of the left door of the entrance hall).

The five rooms of the ground floor and those above are neo-Renaissance in style, as is the splendid staircase.

But during the same period, Liberty style was widespread and the pictorial decorations in the reception rooms, almost in contrast with the architecture, already show themselves to be influenced by the new style. The English-style gardens are late 19th century as are the three gates (the left one has been walled up). The central access is decorated with terracotta eagles and the one leading to the farm with crouching lions.

At the beginning of the twentieth century the railway from S. Ellero to Saltino passed near to Villa Pitiana and the station still remains today.

In 1931 other work was carried out although it is difficult to judge its extent (recorded in writing on the right portal of the entrance hall): it was probably the conclusion of work begun in 1897, with the restoration of medieval parts and interior modifications.