The Count & Countess of Via Lambertesca
My nonna Lilliana is from Florence as you may already know, and she lived on Via Lambertesca for the majority of her life in this beautiful city. Her parents Guido and Giovanna were in the hospitality industry and after working in a few luxury hotels, Guido was hired by a Count and Countess to live with them as the butler in their home at Via Lambertesca 11. It was also arranged that Giovanna and Lilliana were to live on-site and Giovanna would act as a seamstress and chambermaid, while Lilliana would help with chores and running errands for the Countess.
Via Lambertesca 11 is the Bartolommei-Buschetti Palace, owned now by the Marchi family. Guido was hired by Count Enrico Luling Buschetti and Countess Marina Volpi. Marina was the daughter of Count Giuseppe Volpi, the founder of the Venice Film Festival. Enrico's sister Elena married Giulio Marchi and their descendants are currently in possession of the property. Marina was married once before Enrico, in which she held the title of Princess since her husband was Prince Carlo Ruspoli.
Princess Marina's father Count Volpi, not only founded the Venice Film Festival but also invented utilities that brought electricity to Venice and was the Kingdom of Italy's ministry of finance in Mussolini's cabinet. Count Volpi also had another daughter, Anna; Marina's sister. Anna had a daughter that she named after her sister, Marina Cicogna. Marina Cicogna is very famous in Italy for many reasons, and is best known for the photographs she took of her friends in the 1960s, that happen to be named Monroe, Garbo, Hudson, Onassis, and more. But Marina Cicogna isn't the only Marina that is named after the princess. My sister happens to also be named after her...
Enrico's mother was Maria Theresa Buschetti, and her mother was Ida Bartolommei, whose father Ferdinando Bartolommei, was a prominent revolutionist and a politically significant figure in Tuscany from 1847-1860. This is where the name of the palace, Bartolommei-Buschetti comes from.
Since my nonna grew up with a princess in a palace, she had charming delusions of grandeur for most of her life. But I can't blame her because her friends were all from noble families (such as the Gondi's), she had access to luxuries (like chocolate) during the war, and Mussolini even joined them for dinner once. He offered to take her to Cinnecita in Rome to become a movie star, but Guido politely declined the invitation. Guido said no to Mussolini! Oy vey...
The palace is located about 87 meters (or 285 feet) from the Ponte Vecchio. During WWII, the German's bombed all of the bridges in Florence except the Ponte Vecchio. However, they still dropped bombs around the bridge. My family had to evacuate and thank god they did because the bombs were so close to the palace, that the tower of the palace was destroyed. My family lived at the top of the tower up a spiral staircase. The tower was called Girolami tower which was directly on the corner of Via Por Santa Maria and Via Lambertesca. It was named Girolami after the family that owned the palace before selling it to the Bartolommei family. It was completely destroyed after the war and was never rebuilt. Due to this, my family relocated to live at Via Lambertesca 5.
My nonna remembers having to evacuate due to the German's placing bombs on Por Santa Maria and said that after the bridges were bombed in August of 1944, all the windows were blown out of every house on the street. It's actually not the only bomb to happen to this street. In 1993, the mafia placed a bomb in a car and parked it next to the Uffizi (which is located at the end of the street). It damaged the museum and killed 5 people and now there is an olive tree in a planter at this exact location to act as a living memorial to the victims.
Via Lambertesca is not only located in the heart of the historical section of Florence but is a picturesque street that connects to the Uffizi gallery and the Piazza Della signorina. Thousands of tourists probably walk down this street every day completely unaware that they are passing the homes of the elite and the history that has taken place here. What a beautiful place to grow up.
Guido actually worked for the family until retirement and often traveled to other properties owned by extended family members. The family is very successful, not only Marina in film and fashion but her siblings and cousins went on to become movie stars, F1 car/team owners, restaurant and winery owners, hoteliers and interior designers, and the extended Marchi family members have branched out to marry into the Frescobaldi family, the most prestigious wine producer in Florence.
It's interesting to think that all of this history revolves around this nondescript palace on Via Lambertesca that still stands today and is available as a luxury vacation rental but as a relic of a bygone era. Next time you are in the area, take a stroll past #11 and I hope you think of Lillian and "her palace."
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