Historical Notes
Villa Alexander, then Stanley, stands on the slopes of Monte Morello.
With its crenelated tower, which still retains the character and style of its original construction, it originally belonged to the Ughi Family, a powerful Florentine family.
In the early 15th century, the Villa was named Camporella, given by the location where it was built, and belonged to the leather merchant Piero di Ambrogio Ambrogi. In the second half of the 15th century, the property passed to the famous architect Niccolò di Michelozzo Michelozzi, who was responsible for the pictorial and decorative embellishment of the villa, with its characteristic sixteenth-century courtyard and the loggia on the third floor, from which one can enjoy an extensive panorama of the Florentine plain. Many families took residence here: from the Berardis in the 17th century, the Malegonnelle, and later the Altoviti and the Bonaccorsi, from whom it was purchased in 1860 by Abbot Giovanni Malenchini. In 1923, Dr. Murawieff, a Russian subject, returned here.
History has made its course to our days, when a young and talented professor decided to buy it, for its charm, its spaces, its proximity to the historic villas of the Ginori Family, who in the 1700s established the famous Ceramic Manufacturing, and the Gerinis, in whose residence the myth of the novel ‘Pinocchio’ written by Carlo Lorenzini – Collodi was born. Villa Fantastic Garden stands not far from Villa Paolina or Baldini-Dufour, which originally belonged to the Petruzzi (or Petrucci) family; in 1553 it was sold to Antonio Torrigiani, who also owned other villas in the area. In 1659 it was purchased by Benedetto Dragomanni, and in 1825 it became the property of Prince Camillo Borghese, who had it renovated in honor of his wife Paolina Bonaparte, the younger sister of the French emperor Napoleon.
Today,Villa Fantastic Garden aims to be a unique place, full of cultural and naturalistic inspiration, offering its guests unique moments, enriched by unforgettable events.
