Villa La Pietra is a villa outside Florence, Italy in Italy. The villa and its 57 acre (23 ha) estate is now owned by New York University, after it was bequeathed by Sir Harold Acton.
The villa houses an eclectic collection of art from all around the world. A long cypress avenue connects the entrance of the estate to the house itself. The garden contains a large collection of statues Arthur Acton collected, many by Orazio Marinali from Vicenza and Antonio Bonazza from Padua.
The original villa was built in the fifteenth century by the Macinghi family. It is named after a milestone which used to mark its distance from Florence. It was bought in 1460 by the Florentine banker Francesco Sassetti. It was bought in 1491 by the Capponi family. Cardinal Luigi Capponi made substantial renovations in the seventeenth century, adding the baroque exterior, thought to be designed by Carlo Fontana.
The gardens were entirely redesigned when it was landscaped in the 'English style' in the nineteenth century. The villa was bought in 1908 by Arthur Acton and his wife Hortense, the parents of Harold Acton. They recreated a garden in the original Italian Renaissance style, a task continued by Harold.
When Harold Acton died in 1994, he left the estate and its art to New York University. Acton was first inspired to leave his home as a legacy for education by Bernard Berenson.[1] Today students from all over the world come to the villa to live and study as they participate in New York University's study abroad program. The other buildings on the property are used for lodging and classroom space.