Fattoria Bassetto

The Bassetto building compound is situated on a slight slope above Road No. 429, south-west of the town of Certaldo. The compound has double access to the main road through a beautiful internal driveway, tracing the original path of the New Francigena, passing from east to west through the property. Bassetto is comprised of a series of buildings erected in different phases over the course of its history.

The older buildings are constructed from brick masonry, and the parts added in the 18th Century after being purchased by Piero Guicciardini, are constructed from stone (these differences are clearly visible where the wall surfaces are not painted). From the Leopoldino Land Register (Catasto Leopoldino, c. 1820) it was found that the oldest buildings were the fattoria (farmhouse) in the center of the compound, with the tinaia (vat room) and cappella (chappel) to the west, and the fienile (hay loft) and another minor annex to the east.

During the 18th Century, the fattoria, the tinaia and the cappella were united to form the one united compound that exists today. The cappella was expanded and became the villa (owner's residence) and the fienile extended to its present size. At the end of the 18th Century, as documented in the historical records, a large cantina (cellar) to the north-west and additional annex to the east were added to the complex.

The ensemble of different buildings form a very articulate corpus that create a remarkable continuous space and has a truly authentic rustic charm. The stone rampart running along the south side of the courtyard in the center of the compound contributes to the unifying aspect of the whole, even though the different parts were once disarticulated and varied, and then unified by the use of bricks, made on site, and local stone as building materials.