Castello di Sammezzano

Reggello, Firenze (Italy)

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Visited by Fabio Bardelli

REGELLO/ITALY: Not far from Florence, near Reggello and precisely in the suburb of Leccio, there is one of the most interesting Italian art masterpieces, the Castello di Sammezzano

. Indeed, a real “unique”, a large edifice built and decorated following a curious “eclectic style” which took on its present appearance in the second half of the 19th century in accordance with the will of its then owner, Marquis Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes d’Aragona.

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The original building dates from the early 17th century and was built by Ximenes D’Aragona Family as its residence, then passing in inheritance to their sons and descendants.

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Following the dictates of Orientalism, an art movement in vogue in the nineteenth century that tended to reproduce the oriental art in a western context, Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes d’Aragona devoted a great part of his life to the construction and decoration of the Castle in the form that we can see today, with its succession of rooms and corridors luxuriously decorated with stucco work and wonderful oriental flavour majolica.

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A part of this building, formerly a private residence, after the 2^nd World War was also used as an hotel. 

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Unfortunately it is currently in a state of semi-abandonment, and after the failure of the Italian-British company that bought it in 1999 it was again put up for auction but did not find buyers
. A new auction is scheduled for next spring.

All Photos: Save Sammezzano

Around the Castle, which houses on the top of a hill well visible from far, it is a huge park with many centuries-old trees and rare plant species and among them many beautiful redwoods.

All Photos: Save Sammezzano

We hope that the Castle and the adjacent park, works of great beauty and importance in Italian artistic and cultural world, in the future should not be so neglected and abandoned (this is unfortunately the common destiny for many works of art in Italy, a country very rich in masterpieces but quite inable to preserve them and to show up on advantage) but valued as they surely deserve.

Visited by Fabio Bardelli, All Photos: Save Sammezzano