Rif. 0030
Lionard Luxury Real Estate Via de Tornabuoni, 1 50123 Florence Italy Tel. +39 055 0548100 Tuscany Pistoia Exclusive Real Estate in Tuscany DESCRIPTION An exclusive real estate opportunity in Tuscany, built on a hill between Montecatini and Pistoia, the monastery of San Francesco a Giaccherino dates back to the early years of the 13th century, when they were used as a public oratory and a hospital for pilgrims. The convent itself was built by Gabriello Panciatichi at the start of the 15th century to house the Community of the Franciscan Brothers of the Observance. The pontifical authorisation for the donation and restructuring of the monastic complex was received in 1407, while 1414 is the date recorded for the completion of the work. Over the centuries, the convent, originally a small, solitary hermitage, underwent a number of expansions that resulted in the impressive complex universally admired today. Having become an important centre for theological studies, it was modified to a noteworthy extent during the 17th century, when it took on its present layout. Apart from the church and the convent, the complex consists of two cloisters with loggias, two dormitories and a refectory, for a total roofed surface area of 7310 m2. An olive grove in the lower portion of the property, densely grown forests of oaks, larches and other high-trunk trees above, plus towering cypresses in the uppermost portion, enrich the 105000 m2 of terrain that surround the complex. Many works of art and decorative treatments are still preserved, demonstrating the importance of the Italian property. Apart from the library of note, which holds 17,000 volumes, including historical-
theological documents, incunabula and fifteenth-century etchings, major works include an Annunciation and a Madonna with Child by Mariotto di Nardo, a friend and helper of Lorenzo Ghiberti, plus a Last Supper by Alessio Gimignani. Gimignani, working together with Francesco Leoncini, a painter from Pistoia, also frescoed the lunettes of the larger cloister, depicting scenes taken from the Stories of St. Francis, while scenes from the Stories of St. Anthony provided the decorative theme for the smaller cloister, where work was done by Luigi Cappelli, Giovanni Domenico Ferrucci and the accomplished Florentine master of the early seventeenth century, Giovanni da San Giovanni. The cloister (a term derived from the Latin claustrum, or lock, referring to the way the monks were separated from the outside world) consists of a large square courtyard surrounded on a number of sides by covered corridors that open on to a central space holding a series of large-scale arches. Inside the larger cloister is a verdant garden that holds a well built in smoothfaced stone, supplied with water, in Roman fashion, by an underground tank. The convent is currently protected by the Superintendent of Fine Arts, with both the more valuable furnishings and the frescoes having been catalogued by the Ministry of Cultural Resources. TECHNICAL DETAILS LOCATION The original core settlement of Pistoia was built on a type of floodplain formed by sediment from the Ombrone stream. While it is true that this initial Roman oppidum was built to support the troops on the occasion of the Liguria Wars, there are also traces of earlier populations and ethnic groups in the area. Though it did not yet exist at the time of Hannibal s invasion during the Second Punic War, the town soon took on noteworthy importance, thanks to its position on the Via Cassia. After becoming a territorial district of the Byzantine Empire, the town fell to the Longobards, whose presence is still well documented by local place names. The Germanic domination gave way to that of the Franks, albeit peacefully, and a closed, self-sufficient type of economy became the norm for the town: feudalism arrived, with the Counts of the Guidi and Cadolingi families fighting over possession of Pistoia and the surrounding territory. In the 12th century, a newfound wellbeing led the population to increase fourfold, and trade also grew. But Pistoia s good fortune irritated Florence, which tried to take advantage of large-scale political motives, such as points of conflict between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, in order to openly challenge the enemy city, which was ultimately forced into subjugation by Florence. In 1348 the plague broke out in Pistoia, as it did in the rest of Europe as well, inflicting large demographic and economic losses, a situation that remained unchanged until the 17th century, when Giulio Rospigliosi, a native of Pistoia, was elected Pope under the name of Clement IX. The city s definitive revival came under the Lorena family, and it became increasingly independent, to the point where, during the wars of Italian Unification, it dared to move against the Austrians. In the nineteen-twenties, when the fascist regime designated Pistoia as one of the new provincial seats, Mussolini chose the city because of its reputation of devotion to Italian unity and resistance against foreign occupiers.
Interiors surface: 7310 m2 Exteriors surface: 10 he second underground level: 260 m2 first underground level: 1950 m2 ground floor: 3000 m2 first floor: 2100 m2 estate made by pinewood, grove, olive trees and vineyard. Cloisters and panoramic terraces heliport - swimmingpool - tennis courtyard to be carried out. Pistoia: 1 km - Firenze: 38 km - Lucca: 35 km - Pisa: 50 km - Forte dei Marmi: 60 km - Terme: 11 km - Golf club: 10 km - Aeroporto di Firenze: 30 km - Casello autostrada: A1 uscita Pistoia 1 Rif.: 0030 Price: On Application
PROPERTY PHOTOS
Lionard Luxury Real Estate FLORENCE MILAN Via de Tornabuoni, 1 50123 Tel. +39 055 0548100 florence@lionard.com Via Borgonuovo, 20 20121 39 02 25061442 milan@lionard.com