Heritage
Described by Guido Carocci as “one of the grandest and most splendid Fiesole villas for its favorable situation and the richness of its annexes”1, Villa Rondinelli enjoys a scenographic position along the ancient and steep Via Vecchia Fiesolana.
Dating back to the 16th century, the Villa was once owned, among others, by Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici. In 1954, it was eventually acquired by the renowned landscape architect Pietro Porcinai, who turned it into his studio and “privileged vantage point over the world”2. Indeed, the Villa owes its current appearance to his reshaping of the garden and of the buildings making up the complex, masterfully blending in with the hilly landscape setting.
The Winter Garden was obtained through Porcinai’s innovative conversion of the greenhouses and later perfected by the intervention of architect Claudio Nardi.
G. Carocci, I dintorni di Firenze, Galletti & Cocci, Florence 1906-1907
I. Romitti, Pietro Porcinai. l’identità dei giardini fiesolani. Il paesaggio come “immenso giardino”, Edizioni Polistampa, Florence 2011
Photos above: Alfredo Garuti
Pietro Porcinai. Photography Paola Fallaci, ©AntonioPerazzi
Pietro Porcinai
(Settignano 1910 – Florence 1986)
Italian garden and landscape architect. He designed projects on the most diverse scales in Italy and worldwide, ranging from public works to gardens for private residences.
Biography highlights:
1936 – Giò Ponti, Editor in Chief of Domus magazine, entrusted him with a column dedicated to nature and gardens.
1948 – Jesus College, University of Cambridge – Founding member of the IFLA (International Federation of Landscape Architects).
1950 – Rome – Founder of the Italian Association of Landscape Architecture (now AIAPP).
1960 – In/Arch award by the National Institute of Architecture.
1963 – UNESCO consultant for the repositioning of the Egyptian temples of Abu Simbel.
1979 – Munich – The Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts honored him with the Ludwig-von-Sckell award.
Porcinai Archive
Declared a site of cultural interest in 1997 and therefore subject to applicable protection regulations for private archives, the Archive documents Pietro Porcinai’s entire planning activity in the field of landscape architecture.
The documents preserved in the Archive span from graphic works and text documents to photographs and press clippings. The library includes numerous books and periodicals, as well as prototypes of Porcinai’s outdoors furniture designs.
On August 31st, 2012, the Archive was granted the European Garden Award, issued by the European Heritage Network (EGHN).
