This is the Stibbert museum, born from the passion of an extravagant man, who dedicated his “fin de siècle” life to an equally original collection.
Known above all for its weapons and armour, the museum collects twenty thousand pieces from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Far East, a type of nineteenth-century exhibition that is very rare to observe today.
Frederick Stibbert, of English origin, was a man of great culture and played a decisive role in the European antiques market. His collections reflect interest in the history of various peoples. Weapons, armour, but also furnishings, tapestries and paintings, all collected in this enormous two-storey villa, are positioned in very evocative environments.
Among the precious armour there is also the one with which Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, the famous leader of the Medici family, was buried.
The park, a typical example of a romantic English park, is dotted with architectural furnishings, stone animals designed and built by Stibbert himself. Rare plants imported from the East or from the numerous floral exhibitions in which Stibbert loved to participate are still preserved here today.
Frederick Stibbert was a unique collector, and his whole world is still found here, on the hills of Florence, exactly as he had wanted and built it, in his villa-museum.
Ideal tour to find refreshment in the shaded park during the hot days of summer!