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The "Palazzetta" inserted into the 13th Century fortress walls
Diomede Leoni did not have the funds to build a grand villa. Instead, while restoring the town fortress wall, he widened it slightly to make a simple lodging which forms a kind of two-dimensional stage set for the garden. This feature visually shifts the focus of the viewer from the central axis to the side and ties the diagonals of the lower garden together. The house is only a few meters wide in places but provided a refuge to the nobility when needed along the road to and from Rome and Florence. The interior has many plaques meant to show his sophistication and erudition to those fortunate enough to sojourn there.
Palazzetta visually connects across garden to the Eastern Gate
At the base of the steps at the Palazzetta, note another marble plaque. It was strategically located at the end of diagonal path which connects to the (now closed) eastern gate. This is currently difficult to see with the sculpture of the Grand Duke blocking the view. The inscription welcomes the visitor to his home after their long travels:
“Peregrino labore fessi / venimus larem ad nostrum” Catullus, 31
Weary travelers are welcome at our hearth”
He built this little house while repairing the town fortress walls damaged from the Sienese war with Florence in the 1550’s. This was a bitterly fought war, with the Sienese last battle being held in nearby Montalcino. The armies ransacked San Quirico as well, leaving of the town protective walls and the Cassero tower in ruins. The Florentine armies won, subsequently claiming all of Siena and its territories to form modern Tuscany.
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