Villa Medicea di Castello (4km north of Florence centro) was Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici's country villa. Botticelli's Primavera AND Birth of Venus originally hung HERE (now in the Uffizi). The garden (designed by Tribolo, 1537) was the model for all Medici gardens — geometric parterres, citrus trees in terracotta pots, and Giambologna's Appennino (a colossal statue of a shivering old man representing the Apennine Mountains, embedded in a grotto). The garden is FREE. The villa interior is closed (houses the Accademia della Crusca).
The garden: Formal Italian garden descending in terraces. Tribolo's Fountain of Hercules and Antaeus (center — Hercules crushing Antaeus, water spraying from Antaeus's mouth). Citrus garden (Medici collected 500+ citrus varieties). The Grotto (Giambologna's animals — bronze birds, marble goats). The villa: Exterior viewable only (the Accademia della Crusca — Italy's language academy, founded 1583 — works inside). Practical: Via di Castello 47 (Castello, 4km north of centro). Garden FREE. Open daily 8:15am-sunset. Bus 2/28 from Stazione SMN. 1h. Combine: Villa di Castello + Villa La Petraia (adjacent Medici villa, €6, frescoed courtyard) = Medici villa morning → Florence centro afternoon.