Villa
Salviati near Ponte alla Badia
If we
wonder off north, into the hills of Florence, and follow the Via Bolognese, the
world around us slowly changes. The red and yellow colours of the Florentine palazzi,
and the busy noisy streets, are slowly being replaced by small roads with walls
surrounding lush gardens, tall trees peeking over enclosures, and soft rolling
hills. After a little while, the high roof of a large building shows up on our left-hand
side. Walking through the gate, a villa comes into full view. Built in the
fourteenth century as a small castle, and made into a countryside villa by the
patrician Alamanno Salviati in 1445, the building now houses the Historical
Archives of the European Union. It was recently renovated, and beautifully
restored to its former sixteenth-century glory.
