The oldest notice of the “place called Gamberaja” dates back to the second half of the fourteenth century when a farmhouse belonged to the nuns of S. Martino a Mensola. The name probably referred to the presence of freshwater shrimp (“gamberi”) in local ponds or streams. At the end of the fourteenth century the property was purchased by Matteo di Domenico Gamberelli, father of the famous sculptors and architects Antonio and Bernardo Gamberelli, surnamed Rossellino. In 1610, the new owner Zanobi Lapi completed the construction of the manor house and in the following decades his nephews laid out the main areas of the gardens.