The Medicean villa of Cafaggiolo is at about 8 km. from Barberino in a place that takes the name of an ancient word with which the Lombards referred a territory characterized by fences of trees, hedges, pits and other types of natural defences.

This villa had been a castle before and it had been built over a pre-existent construction where the farmers' families of the territory found refuge. In 1427, the Medici bought it and twenty years later Cosimo Il Vecchio transformed it into a luxury residence that developed around the now disappeared fortress. The architect Michelozzo worked on it and he planned the construction of a building with a rectangular layout and a second tower, a drawbridge and a garden. On the basis of the description we have today, the project of that time included also two more bridges to enter the villa and a Fountain, now disappeared, in the meadow in front of the house.
The Medici spent long stays and received many important people in the fortress of Cafaggiolo. Lorenzo The Magnificent stayed here very often and it was near the villa that he composed the short poem "La Nencia di Barberino", where he cited the then flourishing market of the small village, and other writings. The Castle was also the refuge of the Medici when Lorenzo avoided the conspiracy of the Pazzi.
The Villa belonged to the Medici until the XVIII century, when the Lorraine became the new owners. In 1864, the Borghesi bought the fortress and they wanted to definitively give it the appearance of a villa by pulling down its ancient tower and its perimeter walls. Near the castle, the Factory of Pottery and the Furnace rose as Pierfrancesco de' Medici settled. They were destined to the production of precious majolicas that at the time were rapidly spreading in the Italian market.
The South Kengsington Museum of London and the Ceramics International Museum of Faenza house pottery carried out in the factory of Cafaggiola. Almost at the end of the XVII century, this activity started a phase of strong decline in the wake of Pierfrancesco's death, since he had been its supporter and financial backer.