The Garden of the Medici Villa di Castello is located in Florence in Locality Castello, a neighborhood in the northwest outskirts of Florence.

The Villa was declared a UNESCO heritage site in 2013. The Villa di Castello is one of the oldest suburban residences of the Medici family. The residence was built by the will of Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1477, and in 1538 its garden was designed with fountains, statues, and grottoes. Today, it houses a Renaissance Museum inside.

The Museum was founded in 1537 by Cosimo I de’ Medici with architect Niccolò Tribolo. Of great interest is the pictorial cycle created by Tribolo and Pierino da Vinci with a bronze group by Bartolomeo Ammannati. Part of the gardens is the Grotto of the Animals with water features and decorations, now open to the public thanks to restoration work.

The Grotto of the Animals, also known as the Deluge Grotto, houses groups of animal sculptures in polychrome marbles. In the upper area of the gardens, there is an English garden with a large cistern created by Vasari featuring the bronze sculpture by Ammannati, the Appennino or Gennaio.

Furthermore, the garden is very important for its unique botanical history in the world. The garden boasts ancient Medici varieties and over three hundred years of existence.