The Villa Gioli was where Francesco and Luigi Gioli did their painting. Their work required a whole host of studies, drawings and sketches on scraps of paper, in sketchbooks and notebooks that the family have conserved. Like personal diaries, these notebooks, full of drawings in pencil, pastels and watercolours, are replete with candid moments captured in images, alongside notes and impressions of their daily lives.

In amongst this unpublished material, it is possible to recognise the quick drafts and preparatory sketches made for later paintings, including portraits of local people and peasants, and rural scenes depicting men and animals working in the fields. Luigi Gioli, in particular, drew horses, soldiers and battles.

Thanks to a grant from Airbnb via the Historical Residences Association, this collection has recently been reorganised. All drawings have been categorised by artist, partially restored and reframed, with their original frames updated (acid-proof cardboard and anti-reflective glass).

The collection can now be appreciated by guests of the Villa, as well as by researchers and other interested parties upon request.