Villa Vignamaggio 1*

The Villa of Vignamaggio, surrounded by an elegant Italian garden in a stunningly beautiful corner of the Chianti countryside, offers an authentic testimony of countrylife during the Renaissance period. The main part of the villa dates back to the 14th century. Mona Lisa, the daughter of Anton Maria Gherardini, owner of Vignamaggio,was born there in 1479. Since 1988 Mr. Gianni Nunziante the new owner has undertaken an extensive renovation of the buildings, the gardens, the vineyards and the wine cellars. Research carried out at the Datini archives in Prato has brought to light a number of documents relating to Vignamaggio. One of these, in particular, dated 26 October 1404, consists of a letter to Francesco Datini signed by Amido Gherardini, at that time the owner of the estate, which talks about "vino inbotato a Vignamag(i)o" (literally "wine placed in barrels at Vignamaggio"). For this reason, in 2004 the estate celebrated six hundred years of winemaking. Nowadays Vignamaggio is a wine estate in the Chianti countryside, known for its beautiful Renaissance villa, its delicious wines, for being the birthplace of the Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo and, last but not least, for an outstanding agritourism which is positioned at the high end of the hospitality available in the area. The agriturism consists of rooms, suites and apartments, each one different from the next, situated in the villa and in three different old farmhouses which have been carefully and tastefully restored and furnished and which are complemented with outdoor and indoor facilities such as a tennis court, two swimming pools, mountain bikes, gym and a childrens playground.