Available days: Everyday One of the best kept secrets and interesting tours to take while in Florence! Spending some time visiting these Villas and gardens will give you a great opportunity to see what the Medici’s lifestyle was really all about. It is only visiting their mansions in the countryside, where their family originated, that you will fully understand the family development in Florence itself. The Medici Villas have been recently awarded the UNESCO heritage in 2013. You will be picked up at your hotel and be driven by your driver/official guide that will stop first at Piazza Michelangelo to show you the beautiful views while telling you about the Medici’s family history. Then you will head to the Villa of Petraia, of which you will be able to visit both interiors, with its original frescoes and furniture, and the beautiful gardens. Next stop will be the Villa of Castello, of which only the beautiful gardens filled with statues and exotic flowers are open to the public. After a nice lunch in the countryside, we will head to the Villa Poggio a Caiano, commissioned by Lorenzo il Magnifico in the 1480’s, probably the most interesting Villa built by the rulers of Florence where you will be able to visit both interiors and again the beautiful gardens. What makes The Medici Villas Tour special: At the height of their power, between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Medici owned about thirty villas scattered in the Tuscan countryside. These are authentic jewels of Renaissance architecture between country houses and holiday residences, where they would go for rest, leisure and hunting. You’ll be a true insider on this tour, as the villas are off the beaten path for tourists and are located a few kilometers from Florence.