You definitely wouldn’t want to “make like Feroni”
Once upon a time and even now, in a village called Buggiano, there is a villa called Villa Bellavista. The Feroni who built this heritage were luminaries and to prove they were all the more worthy of their nobility, they entrusted the construction of the villa to Antonio Maria Ferri, the most famous architect in Tuscany at the end of the 1600s. Ferri designed this building by joining, in proportion and size, elements of the Renaissance and tastes from the typical movement of the Baroque style. Feroni was anything but a stingy man. At the time there was even a common saying along the lines of "do as the Feroni do", which meant act like someone to whom money is no issue. It seems that even Cosimo III succumbed to envy in the end and said, "Marchese, don’t forget that over time even Feroni can become Ferini (feral)". It’s likely that this was just a saying, but it soon rang true.
Il Castello
But the story doesn’t end here... instead we travel to the upper part of the municipality of Buggiano and admire Buggiano Castello, a beautiful core that maintains its medieval urban structure with the remains of the fortress’ defensive walls, which offer a splendid view over the whole Valdinievole. On the main square stands the Palazzo del Podestà, dating from the 12th century and a Benedictine Romanesque church dedicated to the Madonna della Salute e di S. Niccolao.
The secret, the gardens and the citrus trees
The village of Buggiano is filled with hidden treasures, secret places, a network of walls and various scents: the Citrus gardens. Each has its own evocative name: the “Secret Garden,” “Garden of Love,” “Land of Olives” and “Turtle Garden.
Citrus fruit cultivation has been happening here due to its exceptional temperate climate and the fact that it’s protected by what was once a marshy area. In spite of how much time has passed, these gardens have remained a stable presence through the centuries, and the secret ones have stayed close to rural community values. The practical and the beautiful were always connected, and it was that same beauty of the citrus trees that marked the streets of villas and other historic dwellings. Every two years, the secret gets told and the aromas spread: the event is known as La Campagna dentro le Mura, and people come from all over the world, from high walls to narrow doors.
Buggiano extend into the Tuscany “From Leonardo to Pinocchio”, that is, from the hills of Vinci and Montalbano to the steep slopes of Collodi. A land that “is a sort of suspended wonder”.