The first mention of the Villa dates back to the 14th century. For a long time the property belonged to a branch of the Strozzi family who used it as a hunting lodge, known to most people as "lo Strozzino".

The building acquired its present form in 1864 with a design by architect Vincenzo Micheli, when it was purchased by Giuseppe Fabbricotti.

Giuseppe Fabbricotti was the owner of marble quarries on the Apuan Alps, an activity that had enriched his family, originally from Carrara.

A glimpse of the Fabbricotti family's life in a photograph taken at the hippodrome in the Parco delle Cascine at the end of the 19th century.

The architect Micheli endowed the villa with a crenellated tower rising above the main structure, and a terrace with a loggia beneath in the style of Brunelleschi. There was a downward view of the garden as it sloped in a series of terraces and balconies following the shape of the hillside.

The architect Micheli endowed the villa with a crenellated tower rising above the main structure, and a terrace with a loggia beneath in the style of Brunelleschi. There was a downward view of the garden as it sloped in a series of terraces and balconies following the shape of the hillside.

These were years full of ferment in which Florence, in those years Capital of Italy, was undergoing profound urban change, while the wealthier classes chose the hillsides as their favoured location for new residences immersed in nature.

The design of the park with its panoramic view of Florence and the surrounding hills is attributed to Giuseppe Poggi. The garden boasts many varieties of plants: stone pines, holm oaks, palms, acanthus and cypresses.

The interiors of the Villa are refined, with mosaic floors and rooms frescoed in the typical style of the period.

The salon on the ground floor, remembered because Napoleon's sister Pauline lodged there shortly before her death, was frescoed by Annibale Gatti, who depicted her in one of the medallions that decorate the ceiling.