Villa dell’Ombrellino (Villa of the Little Umbrella), Florence

Perched on the scenic heights of Bellosguardo, Villa of the Little Umbrella is a historic residence just outside Florence, known for its sweeping views, lush gardens, and rich intellectual and cultural legacy. Originally built in 1372, the villa was home to the Segni family for over four centuries, including the historian Bernardo Segni. It was during the early 17th century, however, that the villa found a notable tenant—Galileo Galilei. From 1617 to 1631, the renowned scientist lived here, preferring the hilltop quiet over the bustle of Florence. It was at Villa di Bellosguardo, as it was then known, that Galileo worked on The Assayer and his groundbreaking Dialogue Concerning the Chief World Systems.

During his residence, Galileo conducted astronomical observations, particularly on the motions of Jupiter’s satellites—known as the Medicean planets—and collaborated with fellow scientist Benedetto Castelli. These years marked a period of intense scientific activity and innovation, preceding Galileo’s final relocation to Arcetri. The villa thus remains a significant location in the history of science, serving as the backdrop for some of the astronomer’s most critical theoretical developments.

In 1815, the villa underwent a transformation under Countess Teresa Spinelli Albizi, who added an ornate iron pavilion shaped like a Chinese umbrella to the garden terrace. This decorative feature gave the villa its current name—Villa of the Little Umbrella. Later, in 1874, the Russian statesman Alexei Zubov acquired the estate and merged it with the adjacent Villa Torricella, redesigning the landscape into a vast romantic park filled with exotic plants such as palm trees, bamboo, and ginkgo biloba.

By the 20th century, the garden facing Florence was reimagined as an Italian-style garden by Cecil Pinsent, a British architect known for shaping some of Tuscany’s most refined green spaces. The villa gained further notoriety in the early 1900s as the home of Alice Keppel, a well-known figure in Edwardian society, and later her daughter Violet Trefusis, a writer and socialite.