Melo’s dream

The Tuscan countryside, a Medici villa and a foreigner who has understood its potential. Near Florence Words Marco Missiroli — Photos Massimo Listri

The countryside in Tuscany, a Medici villa: the Renaissance lives on near Florence. At Castiglioni della Rufina, after a white drive flanked by cypresses and olive groves, one reaches Villa i Busini, formerly a country residence of the Medici. Wolfgang Meyer-Rässler (known as Melo) rediscovered this gem, and has brought the beauty of the 16th century back to life. He organized investors and personally selected a work team, using materials of the highest quality and advanced technologies, with painstaking attention to detail. The spaces now contain seven bedrooms, three residential levels set around an old tower whose stones are the fulcrum, conveying a natural atmosphere.

But the main issue here is time. Entering Villa i Busini means going back into a portion of history. «The Cinquecento: it took four and a half years of maniacal labor for every single substance to come back to the surface», says Alessandra Boccherini, the architect who has accompanied Meyer-Rässler on this adventure. On one side of the central house a gravel walkway leads to the limonaia, an independent apartment created at the edge of the hill. The patio is a long promenade with a view of the valley, next to the Italian garden. Melo explains the absolutely peaceful atmosphere. «The hardest thing was to bring life back to a magical, historic place that had to have all the comforts, but in a camouflaged way». Even the electrical sockets have been concealed, like the TV sets and the tennis court. Every trace of modernity gives way to stuccowork, coffered ceilings. A discreet orchestra, echoes of extraordinary splendor, but also a place for everyday life.