Cosimo I de’ Medici purchased the castle and transformed it into a villa around the mid 16th century on a project attributed to Bernardo Buontalenti. It became the reigning family’s hunting residence and territorial defence in the area. It was donated to the State in 1966. The interior presents several portraits of the Medici family and furnishings from various epochs and origins. A series of maps and relief maps underline its relations with the territory of the Fucecchio marshland.

The Historical Museum of Hunting and the Territory was instituted on the first floor of the villa in September 2002. The exhibits include a weapons collection, mainly for hunting and sports activities, between the 17th and 19th centuries. Also worthy of note is a small collection of eight swamp animals stuffed during the 19th century, and two mechanical clocks from the 17th century, one diurnal, the other nocturnal. The latter has the numbers and fractions of hours bored into it, so that it can be read in transparency thanks to the light of a candle placed inside. The lovely Italian garden situated to the rear of the villa is characterised by the large arbour of a century-old wisteria that covers most of it.