Villa Sforzesca

This beautiful villa is located on the road that connects Castell’azzara to Pitigliano.

Surrounded by endless countryside, the Villa Sforzesca was commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Sforza in 1576, the pink stone facade and the white stone finishes give the building an elegant and austere appearance. The villa was chosen as a summer residence by the Cardinal and was also used as an operational base during operations to repress brigandage during the pontificate of Gregory XIII.

Upon the cardinal’s death, the villa was abandoned, undergoing a long period of degradation which only ended in the 19th century, with the arrival of the Menichetti family, who carried out an important restoration work and made it their official residence. During the 1800s the villa hosted the Grand Duke Leopold of Lorraine twice.

The villa was abandoned again during the 1900s, to be restored to coincide with the Jubilee of 2000, and today houses a museum.