Through the 30th of September 2012, villa La Petraia in the Chianti mountains, is hosting three of Flemish painter Justus Utens birds-eye-view paintings of the Medici villas and country estates used by the Grand Dukes and their family for hunting and recreation.
The exhibit "The Image of the Medici Villas: the Lunettes by Utens at Petraia", featuring the representations of villas La Magia, Cafaggiolo and Petraia, is a precursor to a permanent exhibit in December that will unite all of the extant paintings in the series.
At the turn of the 17th century, Utens painted 17 of the Medici estates, but three have been lost. The collection of 14 lunettes, or half-moon shaped paintings, have long adorned the walls of the Museo di Firenze Com'era (Museum of Florence as It Was), before ownership reverted to the Polo Museale Fiorentino, Florence's central museum administration, earlier this year.
In 2011, the Medici villas became candidates for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List due to their unique architectural properties as adaptations of existing buildings reconfigured to serve artistic, agricultural and recreational purposes.
Entrance to the exhibit at Villa Petraia is free, as are the guided tours available on the hour. The villa, one of five of the original Medici villas currently in use, is now an organic farm, vineyard and cooking school.
