Villa le Balze "The Cliffs"

 villa, university department

Villa le Balze, or "The Cliffs" in Italian clings to the side of a steep hill at the southern edge of the ancient settlement of Fiesole and overlooks the broad valley of the River Arno. Fiesole is immensely rich in architectural heritage with Etruscan remains, a Roman amphitheater and temple, an 11th-century cathedral, and numerous Renaissance buildings.
To the east is the Villa Medici. Fiesole became the summer retreat of Cosimo the Elder starting in 1458, and his was the first true Renaissance villa. The Villa's neighbor to the north is Villa San Girolamo. Used since the 14th century by various religious orders, it is adorned with the work of Michelozzo and Nigetti, has been visited by two popes, and was at one time the headquarters of the Society of Jesus and the home of the Father General, (It also serves as the setting for Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize winning The English Patient). Strong himself even stayed there for a short time in 1911. Moved by the incredible views of the city below, he took a liking for the small holding on the ground below and bought it on which to build a permanent residence.

Upon his death in 1940, Strong left the villa to his daughter Margaret Rockefeller Strong de Larrain. During WWII, the villa was seized by the Nazis and used as a military headquarters; in 1944, it suffered significant damage from bombardment by Allied forces. After the war, Margaret retained ownership and made slow but consistent progress repairing the war damage. In 1979, she donated Villa Le Balze to Georgetown University; the school comprehensively renovated the villa and named it the Charles Augustus Strong Center, for the study of Italian culture and history.

villalebalze.georgetown.edu