Cynthia Traino
Brea, CA, USA, July 21, 2018
“Our time at Villa Tuscany was all we dreamed of and more. Our four week stay included friends, family and five grandchildren. Everyone loved their stay! The views, the pool and the chef Carla dinners by oil lamp will be some of our favorite memories. Yves was the consumate host. From the welcome glass of wine to the final goodbye he made sure all ours needs were met. The easy drive from Florence and the five minutes it takes to get to the center of Montespertoli make the location ideal. We highly recommend a stay at the villa and hope we can return some day.”

Here are the extraordinary shows of Mercantia, Street Theatre International Festival (July 11th-15th), that has been lighting up the medieval heart of Certaldo with music and artists from every corner of the world for 31 years.

“Villa Tuscany has been a dream! It’s authentic and has been restored beautifully with much attention to details pleasing to travelers. Beautiful ceilings and floors! It is a picturesque location with stunning views from all direction. Each room is outstanding! We had eleven people staying and all were very enthusiastic. Yves is an outstanding host and owner! Our thanks for making our vacation so special and also to the chef Carla for fantastic dinners and an amazing cooking class!”

“Thank you so much for allowing us to stay in your beautiful house. After two weeks it almost started to fell like home. The garden is truly unbelievable having such a vast area to explore, run and envoy. The kids as well as us loved every minute.” Rodrigo Dumont

San Salvador, El Salvador, June 10, 2017

Today, the park of Pratolino is open to the public during weekends and holidays. Because of important restoration projects, only the central area of the park is generally accessible but other areas can still be visited by calling and booking ahead of time. Visits in this way can also be done during the week, all at no cost. We hope you enjoy visiting and exploring the park, taken a moment to imagine how it all was back in the time of the Medici.

The Park of Pratolino is one of the most beautiful parks in Florence surroundings.

Among the monuments dating back to the Renaissance there is the massive statue of the Colossus of the Apennines by Giambologna (1579-80). The Apennines is made of stone and brick and had at one time grottoes decorated with frescoes and beautiful geometric decorations on the inside. The beautiful Chapel of Buontalenti has an hexagonal plan with a loggia; in the back, the last Demidoff princess has her final resting place. Then there are the Cupid's Grotto by Buontaltenti and the Fountain of Mugnone with Giambologna's statue.

There are also the Maschera Fishpond used as pool for hot baths, the large aviary and the impressive Fountain of Jupiter that used to be at the entrance into the Medicean park. Together with the neoclassical Lodge of Montili, these monuments can be visited only upon request. Guided tours, even during the week, can be booked by directly calling the park.

The park is a significant natural reserve, both for local flora and fauna. Within you'll find several centuries-old trees such as oaks, English oaks, cedars and conker trees and on a quiet stroll through the paths further away from the buildings it is easy to sight a few deer, foxes and hares in the vegetation before they quickly run away.

Open from April 16 to October 29, 2017 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 10 am to 8 pm, free admission.

Warwickshire, UK, August 20, 2016
“We had a week at Villa Tuscany with our family, ages ranging from 75 to 8 years’ old. The children said: very, very, very good. The pool was great, great wi-fi, lots of places to sit. The adults say: stunning location, beautiful cities and towns to explore but lovely to come back and laze by the pool, superb cycling but a little hilly, dinner booked by Carla and Fania was fantastic. Yves has created a little piece of Tuscan heaven.”

Events in May 2016