Villa Banchieri or di Castelmartini is located in Castelmartini in the municipality of Larciano in the province of Pistoia.
The Castrum Martini, which gives the place its name, was an old fortress that was built in the thirteenth century by a certain "Martino di Jacopo Ammannati". The castle was later converted into the current villa and belonged to various noble families: the Ammannati, the Panciatichi, the Medici, the Lorraine. In 1777 it was finally bought by Peter Bankers, descended from a family of old nobility Pistoia, whose heirs are still the owners.
The current appearance is due to the work of 1890 designed by the architect Francesco Bartolini, who transformed the rustic appearance of the fortress into a Renaissance-style villa. The access to the villa is via an avenue with a double row of holm oaks, while another avenue with cypress trees connects the villa with the youngest swimming pool.
The garden has a 19th century flavor with large lawns, flower beds, and a pond filled with marsh essences. The tree species available include pine, fir, linden, holm oak, oak and exotic plants such as Prunus campanulata, native to China, Taxodum, Aspirea and the Judas tree.
Near the border wall is a rose garden surrounded by box hedges, with four statues that symbolically represent the continents; The cultivation of the Bleumoon rose is striking.
Near the villa is the Larciano Castel meteorological station of the Regional Hydrological Service of Tuscany, active since 1926.