There are wedding venues that are beautiful, and then there are places that carry actual history in their walls. Villa Corsini a Mezzomonte is firmly in the second category. Originally purchased by Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1480, and later decorated and frescoed between 1630 and 1634 at the request of Prince Giovan Carlo de’ Medici, it passed to the Corsini family in 1644 and has remained in private hands ever since. Seven kilometers from the center of Florence, it sits immersed in its own vineyards and olive groves with a view over the Chianti hills that, I mean, there is simply no way to prepare yourself for the first time you see it. I have photographed weddings here multiple times, and it still gets me every single visit.
What makes this place extraordinary for photography is the sheer variety of what you have available in a single location. The entrance courtyard in front of the main facade, the garden running alongside the tree-lined avenue, the wide lawn beside the building, perfect for outdoor ceremonies or summer al-fresco dinners, the terrace with its fountain and statues, overlooking the hills. Each of these spaces has a completely different feel, a different light, and a different kind of image to offer. I always try to get there with a plan, but honestly, the villa tends to surprise me anyway.
If there is one spot at Villa Corsini that I keep being attracted to as a photographer, it is the panoramic terrace. The view over the Chianti hills from up here is, in my opinion, one of the best backdrops for a wedding anywhere in the Florence area. Aperitivo hour on this terrace, with the late afternoon light coming across the valley, is a true scenic part of weddings hosted here. You’ll see your guests getting crazy taking selfies on each single spot, below any satatue – above the most classical Tuscan view. Couples who choose to hold their ceremony here with that landscape behind them get images that are hard to replicate anywhere else. The fountain, the stone balustrade, the vineyards and cypresses in the distance. It all comes together in a way that feels both grand and intimate at the same time. Add a Colorful Daytime Fireworks Arch that pops out at the first kiss, and this image will be framed forever in your guests eyes!
Moving inside the villa, I’d say there are few places in Tuscany that give you this kind of variety from room to room. The frescoed salons and galleries, with their pietra serena colonnades and decorated ceilings, each have their own character. Some rooms are darker and more dramatic, with heavy wooden doors and deep shadows that are perfect for the groom’s getting ready. Others are lighter, more theatrical. The getting ready suite with its tall yellow walls and decorated plasterwork, crystal chandelier and frescoed arches, is in my experience one of the most photogenic bridal preparation spaces I have ever worked in. The light in there is soft and warm and the colors give every frame a slightly cinematic quality that you do not need to work very hard to achieve.
The glass-fronted loggia with its frescoed vaulted ceiling is where the real magic happens for dinners and dancing. The grand gallery can seat up to 220 guests, and when it is set up for an evening reception with candlelight under those painted ceilings, the result is genuinely stunning. If your guest number is shorter, you can use the left side as a live band spot, ready for the most scenic first dance. What I particularly love as a photographer is working the transition between the loggia and the formal Italian garden directly below it. The box-hedge parterres, the stone paths, the geometric structure of it all. For couple portraits after dinner, when the light drops and the garden is lit only by what spills out from the loggia windows, I guess it is about as romantic as it gets. Something that I often see if couples have their reception there: cake-cutting in the garden with the guests looking at you from the huge windows, and fireworks behind you!
The villa offers a huge lawn with a panoramic view over the hills; for my experience, that’s a pretty versatile spaces on the property. Wide enough to host a seated ceremony for a large group, open enough that the Chianti hills become the actual backdrop rather than just something you glimpse in the distance. In summer, the same lawn works beautifully for al fresco dinners under the stars, with the facade of the villa on one side and the countryside on the other. The transition from ceremony setup to dinner setup is something that can be handled, especially if you’re moving your wedding guests down to the terrace for your aperitif. What I particularly appreciate as a photographer is that the lawn gives you real breathing room. The shots from a distance have a scale and a drama to them that you simply cannot get in an enclosed courtyard or a garden with high hedges. And the drone footage – wih all countriside as a majestic backdrop – are usually pretty cinematic compared to other venues in Tuscany.
A venue like this sits firmly in the premium segment of the Tuscany wedding market, and I think that is worth being upfront about. The villa is offered exclusively, which means you have the entire estate to yourselves for the day. No other events, no shared spaces, no compromises on privacy. From what I have seen working here, couples who choose Villa Corsini are typically investing in the higher end of what destination weddings in the Florence area involve, and in my opinion the venue more than justifies it. The combination of the indoor spaces, the gardens, the panoramic terrace, and the proximity to Florence is genuinely hard to match at any price point. For accurate and up-to-date pricing I would always recommend contacting the villa directly, as packages vary depending on the season, guest count, and services included.
I grew up in Florence and I still live here. Villa Corsini a Mezzomonte is, and I mean this, practically on my doorstep. It sits just under 10 kilometers from where I live, and the road that leads up to the villa through the Impruneta hills is one of the routes I ride regularly on my road bike. I know this landscape in every season, in every kind of weather, at every hour of the day. When I arrive at this villa to photograph a wedding, I am not discovering it. I am returning to somewhere I know well, which changes everything about how I work. I know where the light falls in October and where it comes from in May. I know which part of the grounds catches the last sun in the evening and which corner of the garden is worth walking to even if it takes ten minutes to get there.
I guess photographing at a venue this layered requires a certain kind of knowledge and attention, and the best images at Villa Corsini a Mezzomonte are rarely the obvious ones. I’m constantly moving through the estate, mostly following the day rather than trying to control it. I’d say work like a behind-the-scenes creative director. I go with the flow, but if I spot a creative opportunity that could be appealing to you or your guests, I’ll let you know. What I am also interested in is that moment between moments, the glance across the room, the laugh that catches someone off guard, the way the light falls across a table at exactly the right angle. My editing is consistent and intentional, with a warm film-inspired palette, and I avoid using AI-photography tools that are now crowding the market, as they make all the editing look the same. If you book me, you get me, Francesco, for everything. I handle the entire day and the edit personally. I take on a limited number of weddings each year, to keep the quality hight. If you like what you saw/read here and are getting married at Villa Corsini, I would love to hear from you.
A Florence Luxury Villa Wedding | Hannah + Jasper's Exclusive Wedding Day There's a thing that happens every time I walk into Villa Corsini a Mezzomonte on a wedding morning. The gate opens, the gravel crunches under the tires, and the villa appears at the end...