Villa Medici

The Villa di Cerreto Guidi is one of the later Medici hunting residences in Tuscany, set in the hilltop center of Cerreto Guidi about 40 kilometers west of Florence. Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned it in the 16th century, and the villa's most distinctive feature remains its sweeping ramp bridges — the Ponti Medicei — which climb ceremonially to the entrance and give the site its signature silhouette. In 1576, Isabella de' Medici, daughter of Cosimo I, was murdered here by her husband Paolo Giordano Orsini, anchoring the villa to one of the darker episodes of Medici dynastic history. Since 2002 it has housed the Museo storico della caccia e del territorio, dedicated to the history of Tuscan hunting culture through paintings, weaponry, and archival documents. The villa forms part of the UNESCO-listed Medici Villas and Gardens and is open daily except Mondays, with extended hours from April through September.