Castello del Trebbio

In the early 15th century, Cosimo il Vecchio commissioned Michelozzo, a recurring name at court, to transform an existing castle into a comfortable country residence. The first in a long series of villas. The Renaissance and the cultural ferment of the moment are pushing to make way, yet we are in a time of transition and the constructive references of the just concluded Middle Ages have not yet been forgotten. Thus the architectural appearance of the Trebbio remains essentially that of a fortification, complete with crenellated tower. In its halls bustled Lorenzo the Magnificent in his hunting days, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and family, and a very young Amerigo Vespucci fleeing a plague-ravaged Florence.