History
Villa La Massa is a Medici villa on the banks of the Arno, just eight kilometres from the heart of Florence. A convenient shuttle bus is provided for the use of visitors every hour. The first records of Villa La Massa date back to the end of the XIII Century. In 1525 it became the summer residence of Santi Landini, the famous publisher of the Florentine aristocracy, the villa remained in the hands of the family till 1788, when it was sold to Cardinal Giovanni Rinuccini.
The Rinuccini family lived in the villa until 1826, when Lady Catherine Hombert Ruffié Planche took over. In 1856 the property passed to Countess Bierliska, one of the Russian aristocrats resident in Florence at the end of the eighteenth century together with the Demidoff and Boutourline families. The next owner was John Goldsmith and, finally, it was transformed into a “hotel de charme” in 1948 by the Sears family.
Villa d'Este bought Villa La Massa in 1998, reviving its original aristocratic splendour.
The villa is surrounded by ten hectares of park. Each path leads to the River Arno and offers a splendid view over the Chianti hills.
The Iris garden is a place of inspiration. The Iris collection in the garden is the emblem of the “garden” which opens out as a belvedere over the river: different iris varieties grow luxuriantly together with agapanthus and peonies. In the garden there are magnificent olive and lemon trees.
