The Villa Ombrellino derived its name from an umbrella-shaped pergola, erected on its terrace by Countess Teresa Spinelli Albizi who acquired the villa in 1815. With its commanding views of Florence, the house, which had previously been known as the Villa di Bellosguardo, had a list of distinguished residents: Galileo, for example, lived there from 1617 to 1631. In the twentieth century the villa belonged to Alice Keppel, mistress of King Edward VII, and her daughter, Violet Trefusis, who was an intimate friend of Vita Sackville-West.