Declared UNESCO World Heritage in 2013, the villa, located near the Fucecchio Marsh, was built between 1564 and 1567 on the initiative of Cosimo I de’ Medici as a hunting lodge and territorial garrison. Construction was entrusted to Davide Fortini and, afterwards, to Alfonso Parigi il Vecchio. What renders the villa unique and distinctive is the presence of four majestic symmetric staircases named “ponti medicei”, a scenographic basement traditionally attributed to Bernardo Buontalenti, which supports the ground floor and raises the perspective plane. The villa owes its fame also to the tragic incident of Isabella de’ Medici, the beautiful daughter of Cosimo I and Eleonora da Toledo, who according to legend was strangled here by assassins sent by her jealous husband, Duke Paolo Giordano Orsini, though in reality she seems to have died of stroke. Portraits of the Medici family and a fine selection of works from the inheritance of antiquarian Stefano Bardini, are exposed inside. The first floor hosts, since 2002, the Historical Museum of hunting and of the territory, with a collection of weapons, mainly for hunting and shooting, of the 17th-19th centuries.