Historic estate for sale in Tuscany

Brief description

Once home to the author of Pinocchio, this historic, fairytale complex features a period villa with frescoed rooms, a large Italian style garden with ornamental staircase and annexed villas. 12 hectares of land including butterfly house.

Geographic position

Villa dei Satiri is approximately 15 minutes from Lucca, a city of art (17 km), and 40 minutes from the sea. This is a majestic property with a spectacular Italian-style garden, located near a small Tuscan village.

In just over half an hour you can reach Pisa (47 km), Florence (65 km) and Lake Massaciuccoli (40 km).

The A11 motorway, connecting the property to Florence and to the coast, is just 9 km away, while the international airport of Pisa can be reached in less than 40 minutes (49 km).

Description of buildings

The history of the villa dates back to 1366, when an important Florentine family bought the fortress where the villa now stands, making it into a prestigious private residence. In the 17th century, the park was extended and designed according to the canons of Italian-style gardens, with terraces, steps, statues and fountains with water features.

The whole complex, which is up for sale, includes:

The noble Villa of about 3,032 sqm
This is the main villa, built on the ruins of the original fortress. It is spread over four levels and can be reached via a monumental double flight of steps. The main façade faces south, towards the valley, with a large central entrance door that leads to the entrance steps, to the porch and to the internal courtyard facing the Summer House (Palazzina d’Estate).
The villa includes several prestigious frescoed rooms.

The Summer House of about 624 sqm
Behind the façade, to the north of the villa, the Summer House overlooks the same courtyard and is also known as the Clock. This is the work of the architect, Diodati. It has a roof terrace on top, is enclosed by balustrades and has mosaic finishes.

The house known as “la Fattoria” (the Farm) of about 562 sqm
There is access to this house both from outside and from the garden. It is spread over three levels and has an internal porticoed courtyard and a small private garden.

A building used as a restaurant of 248 sqm
The restaurant is on two floors. On the first floor, there is a room with bay windows that overlook the garden. There is both independent access from outside and from the garden.

A renovated building of 527 sqm
The ground floor of this building is used as an educational nature trail and for welcoming visitors to the Butterfly house.

The House of Butterflies, a stunning glass butterfly house of 411 sqm
This is a greenhouse that reproduces a tropical environment suitable for butterflies to live in and in which several species can be admired. The glass structure is integrated into the original structure with stone buttresses on which it rests.

The “Bagnetti” (Baths) of 87 sqm
This is a small, original, period thermal structure, consisting of a double-height building in which there are lovely frescoed rooms used as thermal baths.
In the upper part, there are podiums from which musicians used to play for the pleasure of the guests.

State and finishing

The main villa has been partially renovated, with the aim of making the structure safer and to preserve it.

Although the villa needs some renovation work, it is in good general condition and its charm and the original materials have remained intact. Inside, there the reception rooms are still present, as well as a staircase and spacious halls with prestigious frescoes.

The buildings closest to the villa also need some internal renovation work, while those currently used to serve the park (the restaurant and the house near the butterfly garden) have been restored.

External areas

Created in 1652, the park has a symmetrical Italian-style design in the lower area, from which majestic flights of steps and terraces rise up along the slope of the hill, adorned by statues and waterfalls with water features that, still today, thanks to the hydraulic works dating back to 1793, make the complex even more spectacular.

As well as the park, the complex includes additional land, measuring about 12 hectares in total, with woods and a small, productive olive grove containing 70 olive trees.

Use and potential uses

Villa dei Satiri is one of the most spectacular examples of historic Tuscan architecture. It is a unique property, both because of its history and its architecture. What strikes the visitor is the atmosphere that you can still breathe today, the authenticity of the layout, the details and the materials. The villa has hosted famous personalities like Ferdinand of Austria, Anna de’ Medici and Napoleon Bonaparte. One of the most famous novels of the time was written inside the villa and is well known all over the world.

Its high-impact image and large surface area, divided into several buildings, with the villa in a private, dominant position and the service buildings lower down, suggest uses that ranges from a prestigious residence to a high-level accommodation complex, a cultural centre or an exclusive intellectual retreat. It is also ideal as a location for hosting high-level events, thanks to its easy- to-reach location, far from the traffic and the crowds, while excellently connected to the airport, the motorway and to some of the major Tuscan cities of art: Florence, Lucca and Pisa. It is also close to the sea and the lake.

Distances and location

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