Villa Il Palazzetto is an elegant 17th century villa built on the remains of the ancient castle of Monterchi, It is a perfect Tuscan holiday destination, situated in the small town of Monterchi but totally private due to the thick walls of the old castle. 

Villa Il Palazzetto is the ideal place for people who would like to experience the elegance of life in another époque; who would like to know how it might feel to be part of a noble and ancient Tuscan family and who wish to be immersed in a sensory environment of culture and refinement. This villa is not suitable for children over 1 and under 8. 

ACCOMODATION

Guests enter the Villa Il Palazzetto through the main entrance way from the shady piazza in Monterchi. They encounter an anti hall and then pass through double glass doors to a wide foyer furnished with comfortable armchairs and sofas, Persian rugs and antique chandeliers. From the windows are green views of the surrounding woods and peeks through to the never-ending panorama of the countryside beyond. At the far end of the Foyer is a sweeping red carpeted stair case and to either side, two doorways that lead to two immaculate, elegant and spacious double bedroom suites with private bathrooms.

One bedroom has a separate dressing room, a sitting area with a fabulous ladies vanity table and mirror and in a curtained alcove a big, 18th century, brass double bed. The other bedroom suite has pale green taffeta bedspreads and is furnished with elegant and valuable antiques. It is spacious and comfortable. Ascending the red-carpeted staircase is the formal dining room of the palazzo. The dining room has a large baronial table; an original carved chestnut ceiling, an enormous stone fireplace, and cabinets of the family china and a painting of the family ancestor, amongst other treasures.

On this level one finds the imperial bedroom with a canopy bed, beautifully made, this was Simone Marzocchi’s Bedroom who had this house in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, with whom he was also a sympathizer. The fourth bedroom is The Blue room. It is characterized by this color that dominates the lacquered furniture as well as two twin beds in wrought iron, also from the mid 1800’s. The fifth bedroom which was Donatella's mother room.

Each bedroom has its own bathroom and each is similarly decorated with luxurious antiques and the finest quality bed linens. There is a very large traditional kitchen well equipped with all that is need for preparing Italian food including a dishwasher. The kitchen has been recently redone and modernized with restrained good taste so as not to loose the original feel. There are also laundry facilities (on request). 

Due to the high altitude and thick walls of the palazzo air conditioning is never necessary.

GARDEN & SWIMMING POOL

The garden is in classic Italian style on a terrace framed by the 10th century medieval walls. Accessed directly from the kitchen hallway there is a convenient spot under a centuries old oak tree perfect for taking summer meals. 

There are numerous rose bushes and fruit trees. Two majestic oak trees centuries old have their roots in the history of the antique walls surrounding the villa, enclosing the whole structure in superb isolation from the rest of the village.

In a corner of the garden, a harmonious pool with Jacuzzi corner completes the ideal holiday dream. It floats right at the foot of the town hall clock. Cooling off in the hot summer months, guests can enjoy wonderful sunsets from the water and listen to the church bells when they ring.

Next to it a comfortable and ample gazebo made for pleasant conversation around the table in wrought iron, where it is possible to organize a BBQ.

In the centre of the garden is a delightful fountain with gold fish, it joins it’s musical babble with the many birds that live undisturbed in this paradise.

HISTORY

Villa Il Palazzetto has been built on the foundations of a 10th century castle, which was with in the extensive estate belonging to Anfonsa Tarlati during the fourteenth century, where she lived until 1440 when the battle of Anghiari was fought. A fresco of the battle, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, is in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The Villa was built on the old walls of the original castle in the middle of the 16th century by the Grande Duke Cosimo Medici I.

During this period the nuns from the near by Convento S. Benedetto, frightened of being victims of wandering mercenaries fighting for the Pope against Monterchi, asked to be transferred inside the walls of the castle in order to feel more secure and Cosimo himself allowed the nuns to take refuge in “his palace”. 

The part that was the palace is easy to recognize, you will not see another façade in all the village made as nobly. Its construction follows that of the castle that had been destroyed. The construction of this villa with it’s imposing façade and solid walls symbolizes the Renaissance and the new power of the Medici family.

Ample rooms open themselves before the eyes of the guests who can re live all the magnificence of that glorious period, as it was a little corner of the Medici territory.

Monterchi might not be as important if it wasn’t for its proximity to the Vatican estates therefore it was a strategic outpost to defend the Medici territory against the papal states.

Inside the palace the pavements are all still the original terracotta. Also you can see many architectural elements from the Renaissance era, like the spacious drawing room in pietra serena, typical of this period and the arches and architraves also in stone, according to the traditions and tastes of the Tuscan people.

In the main drawing room, one finds the best example of the magnificence and majesty of the villa, a fire place of notable proportions elegantly made and carved with the noble family crest. It probably belonging to the vicar of Cosimo, representing him in the village.

Although not open to guests for safety reasons the villa also boasts enormous cantinas with a suggestive secret passage way that finishes in the open country side. Upon request you can also visit the old chemistry laboratory that belonged to the owners grandfather. Characteristic because all of the stills and instruments of the late 19th century have been carefully preserved leaving an atmosphere of times gone by, magical and interesting, together with his study full of antique books, letters and curiosities.

In the first years of the 19th century the property was owned by the Brizzi family and then the Marzocchi, when Simone Marzocchi, a surgeon to the grand Duke of Tuscany married the daughter of the family Amelia Brizzi. The house was their country residence where the family passed the summer, looking after their landed properties, as was traditional at that time. Today Donatella Marzocchi, her Mother and son are the last remaining members of this historic family. 

Donatella is a vibrant dynamic and flamboyant person, who carries with her a deep love and intimate knowledge of her forbearers and their cultural heritage. All the furniture and furnishings are original and have always been in the family.