Palazzo Fantini

Palazzo Fantini is situated in the heart of Tredozio, a village on the border between Romagna and Tuscany. Its tranquil setting is far away from the chaos of modern life, surrounded by woods and winding roads.
The building is both elegant and austere, ornate and unpretentious, thus reflecting its dual origins, as the centre of a busy farm and the main residence of a wealthy family. Palazzo Fantini has been inhabited by members of a single family for almost three centuries.

The garden
The elegant but rather austere eighteenth century façade does not give even a hint of the welcoming secrecy of the garden. Nothing can be guessed from outside, but after passing through the doorway into the first courtyard, guests are welcomed by a game of carved box hedges, salvia splendida and a pond containing water plants. The courtyard is surrounded by private entrances and a series of buildings which were once part of the farm.
Suddenly there is a surprise, an Italianate garden which is raised in comparison to the level of the house, and which can only be reached by a flight of steps by the side of a large bulkhead. The garden consists of various sections which are set down on the hill and on the slope.

Museum of country civilisation
Palazzo Fantini was once the centre of a large agricultural estate, and all the local activities were concentrated around it, such as the production of silk, hemp, grapes and timber, the sorting of cereals and the rearing of farmyard animals. Today the stables no longer contain horses and have become part of a picturesque winter garden.
The hen house has disappeared, and laundry week is also a distant memory, when the whole house was turned upside-down and all the household linen was washed with lye and ash. The sharp tapping of the loom or the sputtering of wheat in sieves can no longer be heard, and yet something remains of all these elements of the past.
The buildings surrounding Palazzo Fantini have been restored and used to store agricultural machines and equipment.
A little Museum of Country Civilisation has been created, divided into areas with different themes, as evidence of what was once a very active farm.

Visits to the garden and the Museum of Country Civilisation can be arranged by appointment only from April to September.