Photo: Sailko, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Historic villa / palace
Villa San Donato
Former palace near Florence, owned by Prince Anatoly Demidoff, home of the Demidov collection
At a glance
- Owner
- Nikolai Nikitich Demidov
- Coordinates
- 43°47′25″ N, 11°13′32″ E
About
The Villa San Donato is a Palladian palace built by Russian industrialist Nikolay Demidov on 42 hectares of marshland to the north of Florence at Polverosa which he had bought from the Catholic church, after he was made Russia's ambassador to the court of Tuscany. The first stone was laid on 27 June 1827 and construction was completed in 1831. It includes an estates with rivers, lakes, churches, a menagerie, a silk factory, a zoo, gardens and a railway. The designs were by Giovan Battista Silvestri, architect to the Uffizi.
Besides vast private apartments, it includes a private 14-room museum built to contain the huge Demidov collection. The ceiling of the dome over the central rotonda has a fresco of 1827 by Domenico Morelli, repainted in 1841 by the French painter Jean Baptiste Fortuné de Fournier.
It was seriously damaged in the Second World War. The adjacent Demidoff Chapel of San Donato is now owned by the Church of Christ.
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Full article: «Villa San Donato».
People
Events and people from Wikidata (CC0).
Photos
Getting there
Firenze RifrediTrain, nearest
1.4 km as the crow flies
Villa San Donato
Aeroporto Firenze Amerigo Vespucci2.8 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not walking or driving.
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Nearby
See on the mapMore historic villas and palaces in Tuscany
- Free 1st Sunday
- UNESCO
- Free 1st Sunday
- UNESCO
- Free 1st Sunday
- Free 1st Sunday
Frequently asked questions
Where is Villa San Donato?
Villa San Donato is in Florence, in the province of Firenze (Tuscany), Italy. GPS coordinates: 43.79040, 11.22560.
What else is there to see near Villa San Donato?
Nearby you’ll find: Teatro Puccini (500 m away), Management center of the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze (700 m away), Villa Carobbi (800 m away).
Sources and licences
Text. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Data. Wikidata (CC0); opening hours and contacts OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Photos. Wikimedia Commons, author and licence on every image.
Credits for the 4 photos
- Villa san donato, firenze, 00 — Sailko, CC BY 3.0
- Firenze, Villa San Donato — Cymbella, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Villa san donato, firenze, 01 — Sailko, CC BY 3.0
- Firenze, Via della Villa Demidoff — Cymbella, CC BY-SA 3.0
Updated 28 October 2026. All sources and licences