Former farmhouse of the Ambrogi family, the estate became property of the Medici family in 1573.
At the end of the XI century Grand-Duke Ferdinando I turned it into a villa, with four corner towers and a courtyard. In 1970 the compound was consigned to the Ministry of Justice to be used as State hospital for criminally insane.
The ancient Medicean walls delimit the perimeter inside which stand the main house and the three hospital prison wards. Outside the walls, but included in the compound, there are streets and wide parks.
Viale Umberto I, 64 - 50056 Montelupo Fiorentino (FI) The villa, made of four levels above ground, a mezzanine floor and a basement, has four corner towers rising for two further floors. The ground floor housed the offices, the church (destined to prisoners), the bar/shop, the kitchen and the dining room for the employees.
The mezzanine floor housed the dormitory for the penitentiary policemen. On the first floor, currently inaccessible due to the instability of the south-eastern tower, were the complex’ main rooms.
The building named “Ward I”, consisting of just one floor above ground, housed the offices.
The “Ward II”, consisting of two floors above ground, housed the doctors’ offices in the south-eastern side and the prison cells on the other sides. The “Ward III”, consisting of three floors above ground and an attic floor, was entirely used as prison.
Outside the prison area there is a canopy that was used for the yard time of the prisoners. The near two-levels building was used as workshop and storage room. These buildings are currently inaccessible since they are in a state of disrepair.
Inquadramento urbanistico
The State property is included in the area F2 “health centre”. The compound is part of the residential area T1 “Individual properties and building complexes of prominent cultural interest”.
Categories of intervention: a, b, c2. Restructuring interventions are allowed, extension works excluded, only for the parts without the significant architectural characteristics of the complexes classified as T1 and T2, and detached from the original complex. A feasibility project must be previously approved.
November 3rd, 2016 the Municipality has signed an understanding protocol (reconfirmed May 25th, 2020) to simplify the administrative procedures. The project presented by the future concessionaire must be consistent with the directions contained in the “preliminary document for the enhancement project” dated July 2017. The estate is protected under Decree n.42/2004 and subject to landscape constraints according to the decree dated 24/01/1977 and published in the Official Journal n.53 dated 25/02/1977.
The complex of the Medicean Villa dell’Ambrogiana is located on the left bank of the river Arno, at its confluence with the river Pesa, in a spectacular landscape near the small town of Montelupo Fiorentino, opposite the village of Capraia.
The bank of the river Arno and the urban park, to the east and the west of the complex, are areas of environmental and landscape interest.
The monastery of the Alcantarines, the Church Ambrogiana, the former rural complex then turned into the Archelogical Museum and the medieval Tower Frescobaldi are all buildings connected to the complex of the villa.
The real estate is well served by the near railway station and can be easily reached by the State Road SS67.
Former farmhouse of the Ambrogi family, the estate became property of the Medici family in 1573.
At the end of the XI century Grand-Duke Ferdinando I turned it into a villa, with four corner towers and a courtyard. In 1970 the compound was consigned to the Ministry of Justice to be used as State hospital for criminally insane.
The ancient Medicean walls delimit the perimeter inside which stand the main house and the three hospital prison wards. Outside the walls, but included in the compound, there are streets and wide parks.
Viale Umberto I, 64 - 50056 Montelupo Fiorentino (FI) 
