Villa La Pietra owes its name to the place where it stands, along Via Bolognese. On its turn, the name of the place derives from a milestone of Roman origin indicating that Florence northern gate was seven miles away.

Banker Francesco Sassetti bought the estate in 1460 and commissioned the enlargement of the building, which was transformed into a real Renaissance villa. The Sassetti family, which owned also the nearby Villa Sassetti, sold Villa La Pietra to the Capponi family in 1546.

Cardinal Luigi Capponi commissioned architect Carlo Fontana to renovated the villa, transforming it into the baroque residence that can be admired today. Only a few 15th-century elements have survived all these changes.

After that in 1814 Gino Capponi had welcome Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany in the villa, as long as Florence was the capital of Italy, Villa La Pietra became the headquarters of the embassy of Russia.

Arthur and Hortence Acton acquired the villa in 1904 and ordered the reorganisation of the garden, which was transformed into an Italian garden, decorated with some statues coming from the famous villa on the Brenta river.

Arthur`s son, the writer and art collector Harold Acton, transformed the villa into an important cultural centre, where he collected tapestry and pieces of china along with numerous paintings, statues, frescoes and archaeological finds.