The town of Bagno a Ripoli has a population of about 25,000 inhabitants and is one of the most populated among the rural centres of the Florentine country.

Throughout its territory, numerous castles and worship places can be admired. Among them, there is the castle of Quarate dating to the XIV century and the oratory of St. Catherine, a precious jewel of the Italian Gothic art. The town houses several events, such as the historical commemorations of the Passion of the Christ, of the Palio delle Contrade and of the Fiera dell'Antella.
This town rises on part of the historical territory belonging to the Florentine's country homonym league, namely the Lega del Bagno in Ripoli. In effect, its parish, that lay on the right bank of the Arno river and controlled the passage across it, included the territories of Santa Maria dell' Antella, of San Donnino a Villamagna, a quite large portion of San Pietro a Ripoli and some areas belonging to other countries.
Nevertheless, the excavations visible in Via della Nave, have unearthed evidences of buildings and Roman coins dating to the III century B.C., at the Emperor Augustus' time. Instead, the remains of a rural villa and of a mill with its ancient grindstone, that had been probably used since the I century B.C. , have been found in Antella.
In the Middle Ages, the various parishes developed along the numerous paths present throughout the territory, such as the ancient Cassia Way - created over a more ancient path traced by the Etruscans -, a more recent Roman way and the transhumance paths, used by the shepherds of Maremma, used until some decades ago. Around the XII century, several castles started to be raised, too. In the XIII century, the Florentine money started to flow in this territory and they represented the investments that triggered both the construction of various buildings and the political and economic domination over the local countryside by the "city of the lily". The "residences" and the "tower-houses" are still visible, along with other defence structures. Among them, there are the XIII-century tower of Rignalla, the tower of Terzano and the tower-house Terigi.
With the Modern Age, these defensive structures changed more and more and turned into real villas and farms. Since the first half of the XVIII century, the farm played a central role in the Bagno a Ripoli's economy and it determined the new function of landowners, who created farms under their direct control.
At the beginning of the XX century, almost two-hundred villas belonging to rich Florentine families were present on the territory. Most of them rose on ancient medieval buildings that were renovated between the XVI and the XVII centuries and kept some of their characteristics.