The original "palagio di Maiano" was battered in 1467 by a hurricane, so much so that the then owner, Bartolomeo degli Alessandri, in order to handle his debts had to sell the entire complex with the large surrounding estate.

In the 18th century, the noble line of the Pazzi ended with Luigi di Cosimo, and the villa then came to Gucci Tolomei before becoming the property of John Temple Leader, who bought it in 1850 "with closed gate";[1] that is to say, with all its contents.

The eclectic English politician made the villa his residence and the center of his affairs, beginning with the overall renovation of the area, which would reach its peak in the neo-Gothic conversion of the nearby Vincigliata Castle.

Respecting the 15th-century appearance of the property, he began an overall alteration with some fairly radical aspects such as the raising of the ground floor and the addition of a central keep in the Gothic style with a loggia (similar, for example, to that of the Villa Petraia).

The small chapel was built to a design by Joseph Francelli, who was the son of John Temple Leader factor and a descendant of a family of other members distinguished themselves in the field of art.

The garden in front of the villa consists of a large lawn, moved by some elements such as a well, a gazebo and a rectangular pool decorated after a refined neo-Gothic loggetta in two colors of brick and stone and the Laghetto columns of irregular shape that exploited a natural cavity.