Steeped in five hundred years of history

Villa Poggio Bartoli is a splendid Medicean villa which dates back to the fifteenth century. It is situated in the beautiful hills around the little town of Vicchio del Mugello, birthplace to the great artists Giotto and Beato Angelico. Originally architected for territorial defensive purposes the property has been transformed over the centuries into an elegant yet imposing country residence, and was used primarily as a hunting lodge.

The villa was built by the noble Bartoli family who were allied with the reigning Medici family in Florence. As such many family members were appointed by the Medici princes to the important administrative role of "Vicari Regi" in Scarperia. There are still two wonderful ancient stems of the Bartoli family clearly visible on the castle walls in Scarperia today. The tower was originally architected as a strategically placed defensive tower which over the years has been gradually transformed into an elegant yet majestic country residence.

Over the centuries the villa became the property of various illustrious Tuscan nobles, the Baldocci, the Papiani, the Spinelli and there are still some wonderful stone family stems to be seen on the facade of the villa today. For a very long time the residence was used as a hunting lodge primarily because of its excellent position in an area rich in wild game.

The ancient noble art of falconry, which the Medici princes excelled in, was practiced on the property.

Around the mid nineteenth century the property was bought by the Swiss family the Peratoner family who, with the innovative thinking of Pietro, re-proposed the property as a profitable agricultural estate. Extending over one thousand hectares, it quickly became an innovative leader in Tuscan agriculture of the time.