On the hillsides of Fiesole and Settignano, overlooking Florence, beautiful villas and gardens recall their former American, British, and European expatriate residents from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Attracted by Florence’s artistic treasures and the Renaissance ideal of villa life, these independent and talented women made their homes here. This volume belongs to the series Our Hillsides: Women Expatriates and Their Villas and Gardens one the Hills of Florence 1890-1950 which aims to revive and enrich their memories by recounting their stories.

"Had I ever really cared for any country except Italy?" asked Vernon Lee. "I am fond of this corner of the world and this ramshackle old house." The "ramshackle old house" was the fifteenth-century Villa Palmeri – the setting of the third booklet in the series – which was her home, her "little ivory tower," from the spring of 1889 until her death in 1935. Lee was often seen in the garden in a "vine-dresser's hat and apron, sowing seeds," or presiding over gatherings of aesthetic women in her "culte." She was described by Bernard Berenson as the "Palmerino Sibyl," occupying her villa like an oracle on sacred land. This book explores how Vernon Lee made the hillside of Florence her eternal home and illuminates her network of friends, neighbours and visitors, including many of the era's renowned writers and artists.