In 1512, when the Medici returned to power in Florence, they banished Machiavelli to his villa in Sant Andrea in Percussina, a small hamlet in the hills a few miles south of the city. There Machiavelli wrote the Prince and the Discourses while in exile. He called his villa his “Albergaccio” self-deprecatingly, as it was and is extremely rustic and somewhat run-down. It’s currently the home of the Chianti Classico Association and a houses a small museum to Machiavelli. I visited in 2003 when doing research for my graphic novel Machiavelli.
Below: Machiavelli’s studio. The location is just as he describes it, however, I’m not sure how much of the furnishings are authentic. The desk looks like it could be. There is a nearby chest, not pictured, which is almost certainly from his time.
Exterior. Note the Machiavelli arms above the door (in the center): four nails and a cross.
A panel from Machiavelli. As you can see, I used the photo above for reference.
New work. Here’s another view of the front entrance, drawn digitally:
If you’re interested in seeing more of the Albergaccio, I’ve created a Flickr album of all the photos I took while I was there that will give you a more complete sense of the village and the building itself.