20/02/2026
Villa Cetinale is one of the most celebrated Baroque villas in Tuscany, near Sovicille, just outside Siena. It was built in the 17th century for Cardinal Flavio Chigi, nephew of Pope Alexander VII, and designed by Carlo Fontana, a Roman architect closely associated with Bernini.
The villa is a masterpiece of Roman Baroque transplanted into the Tuscan countryside, with a façade of perfect symmetry and understated grandeur. Its gardens are considered among the finest in Italy: formal avenues of cypress trees, dramatic staircases, lemon terraces, and the famed “Scala Santa” (Holy Stair), a monumental baroque stairway that climbs through the woods behind the villa to a hermitage.
For centuries, Villa Cetinale has attracted popes, princes, and statesmen, and in the 20th century it became renowned again under the ownership of Lord Lambton, who restored it with an eye to both historical accuracy and romantic beauty.
Today, it is often cited as the archetype of an Italian country estate-an elegant blend of architectural gravitas, sacred symbolism, and pastoral serenity.