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Historical description Along the road between Pelago and Tosi at an altitude of 450 meters you reach the ex-convent of the Vallombrosian monks of Paterno. The origins of the structure date back considerably as indicated in the documents in the State Archives in Florence. A "dependence" of the nearby Vallombrosa Abbey, Paterno was destined to be a farm complex and estate for the Abbey. The period of Paterno's greatest expansion was during the middle years of the 1700's when it also became the seat for the general administration of the Abbey's patrimony. The General Abbot made frequent visits and winter sojourns, not to mention the illustrious visitors who would stop in Paterno on their way to the Abbey. Considerable enlargements and restorations have taken place over the centuries; the most notable were carried out in 1520, in 1735 and again in 1840 - during the last two the private chapel, still existing, was created inside the Villa. The majesty of the original building - represented in two lovely prints of 1782 and 1803 - is only visible today in the limited north section. Serious damage was done to the structure due to the bombings of the Second World War. During the reconstruction after the war it was attempted to restore the surviving structures still recognizable on the north side and in parts of the interior.   www.villapaterno.it, Tel./Fax +39 055 8301086, E-Mail: info@villapaterno.it, hosts: Alberto & Antonella