Villa Bardini

Villa Bardini
The Villa Bardini awaits your visit at a stone's throw from the Pitti Palace, splendidly positioned on a hill overlooking the Arno river and Florence. The Villa was built in 1641 on the foundations of a medieval building by the architect Gherardo Silvani (1579-1675) for his friend Francesco Manadori (1577-1656), hence the name Villa Manadora. The villa's panoramic position gave rise to the villa's other name: Villa Belvedere.

The Villa Belvedere later belonged to the Cambiagi family and at the beginning of the 19th century, to Luigi Le Blanc and his son Giacomo. In 1839, following the reunification of the whole property, it passed to the Mozzi family and then to the Carolath von Beuthen family after 1880. The Villa came finally into possession of the Florentine antiquarian Stefano Bardini in 1913.

The original nucleus of the Villa had a simple structure, with a rectangular plan of reduced dimensions (10 x 25 meters, about 32' x 82'). The Villa rose over three floors of different heights, including a penthouse with a series of circular openings. The building was subject to subsequent expansions in the 19th century. In the early 20th century, the Villa was raised one floor by Stefano Bardini, whose family lived here for years.

After the death of Stefano Bardini's son Ugo in the 1965, a long process involving hereditary matters ensued, which ended in 1996. In 2000, the foundation of the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, through the Fondazione Parchi Monumentali Bardini e Peyron, began an almost 5 year long restoration of the complex. Villa Bardini finally opened its doors to the public in 2008. It hosts museums such as the Pietro Annigoni Museum, as well as temporary art exhibitions and the library of the Tuscan Horticulture Society. The Villa is also home to MoBa, the Bardini Restaurant and Terrace with a spectacular view.


Annigoni Museum

The monographic museum dedicated to the work of Pietro Annigoni (1910 – 1988), Italian portrait and fresco painter, opened its permanent exhibition in the picturesque setting of Villa Bardini in 2008.


Born in Milan in 1910, Annigoni trained in Florence and became one of the foremost painters in post-war Italy. Bearing the influence of Italian Renaissance Portraiture, his work gained world fame when he executed the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in 1956, as well as the portraits of Pope John Paul XXIII, US presidents John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson, the Shah and Empress of Iran, Princess Margaret, and other members of the British royal family.

Discover a selection of works from various periods, techniques, and subjects belonging to the collection of the artist. These works testify of the long and fruitful creative career of one of the most unique artists of the 20th century.



In addition to being the “repository” of the precious artistic works of the master, the museum also acts as exhibition center for temporary events related to Annigoni’s work and, more generally, to the historical period of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

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Tuesday to Sunday: from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
Cashier closes 1 hour before.
Closed on Mondays.

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• From Amerigo Vespucci airport: by the shuttle bus "vola in bus" until Santa Maria Novella Train Station
• Parking: Santa Maria Novella Train Station
• By bus from Santa Maria Novella Train Station:

1. Line 23 (stop at Lungarno Torrigiani, Piazza dei Mozzi)
2. Electric bus D (stop Torrigiani)

• By foot from Santa Maria Novella Train Station: about 15 minutes