Villa Corsini a Castello

The villa was purchased in 1697 for its proximity to the Medici Villa of Petraia by the Councilor of Grand Duke Cosimo III de 'Medici, Filippo Corsini, who entrusted the renovation to Giovan Battista Foggini (1652-1725), architect and grand-ducal sculptor, as well as director of court factories.In 1968 the villa was donated to the Italian state by Galliano Boldrini; joined in 2006 by the Special Superintendence for the Polo Museale Fiorentino, since 2015 it has been part of the Polo Museale della Toscana, today the Regional Directorate of the Museums of Tuscany. Since the end of the eighties, the villa has housed a deposit of archaeological finds from the Archaeological Superintendence of Tuscany, originally placed in the rooms of the Palazzo della Crocetta, from where they were removed after the restructuring of the museum itinerary carried out after the 1966 flood. It has been the subject of a campaign of restorations directed by the Superintendency for Environmental and Architectural Heritage of Florence, which began in 2000 with the large hall and the internal courtyard. Thanks to the constant contribution of the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, the recovery project of the ancient Baroque complex ended in 2010, with the remaking of the facade and a large part of the interior.realization of a museum layout in the traditional sense of the term, as regards restoring the visibility of works preserved in this villa, which for years has been serving as a deposit for the stone materials of the National Archaeological Museum of Florence.In the hall some of the most significant marbles of the collection of the Archaeological Museum have been placed, among which the porphyry statue of the emperor Hadrian stands out, unique in its kind, and that of the Peplophoros from Palazzo Cepparello, a splendid replica of the Roman age from a Greek original of the 5th century B.C. Along the walls of the courtyard, on the other hand, numerous Etruscan sarcophagi in nenfro from Tuscania, from the noble tomb of the Statlane, dating from the end of the 4th to the 2nd century BC. C., in addition to a very valuable female sarcophagus from Tarquinia, decorated in bas-relief with figurative scenes loaded with symbolic values ??that allude to saving rites and cults.In other rooms on the ground floor, on the other hand, we wanted to recover part of the sumptuous decoration of ancient marbles once in the "Ricetto delle Iscrizioni" of the Uffizi, set up by Foggini for Cosimo III as a majestic entrance to the Gallery and dismantled by 1920, after alternating set-up stages.On the first floor, the visitor will be able to retrace the millennial history of the Florentine plain through a permanent exhibition of finds found in the area. Among them stand out the remains of the "Tomba della Mula" (late VII century BC) and funerary sculptures of archaic Fiesole shops, three of which the exceptional "Cippo di Settimello" (mid VI century BC). It is important to remember that the exhibition also includes finds from the Etruscan city of Gonfienti, discovered over ten years ago not far from Calenzano.The exhibition is aimed not so much at creating a museum layout in the traditional sense of the term, as at restoring the visibility of works preserved in this villa, which for years has been serving as a deposit for the stone materials of the National Archaeological Museum of Florence.Reopening from Thursday 25 June 2020.Timetable detail (1)Free entry with reservations required up to a maximum of 4 people per shift and accompanied visit by the museum staff.Reservations at n. +39 055 450752 from 8.00 to 13.00.Thursday 25 June 2020, entrance only with accompanied visits at 2.00pm - 3.00pm - 4.00pm - 5.00pm.From 1 to 29 July, on Wednesdays, entrance only with guided tours at 2.00pm - 3.00pm - 4.00pm - 5.00pm.From June 28th to July 26th, on Sunday entrance only with guided tours at 9.00 - 10.00 - 11.00 - 12.00 - 13.00.AUGUST CLOSEDFrom 2 to 30 September 2020every Wednesday entrance only with guided visits at 2.00pm - 3.00pm - 4.00pm - 5.00pmand on Sundays, admission exclusively with guided tours at 9.00 - 10.00 - 11.00 - 12.00 - 13.00General indications for entry and visit to museums and archaeological areasIt is necessary to follow the instructions provided by the reception staff and to comply with the safety provisions:• Temperature detection by staff and entry prohibited in case of fever above 37.5 °• Entrance with mask requirement• Wash / sanitize your hands often• Respect for the interpersonal distance of at least 1.5 meters.• Do not stay in the passageways