BBC | Italian Gardens Boboli Garden HD | Stephen D. Milton

The Pitti Palace and the Medici family

Brunelleschi's construction, continued by his pupil, Luca Fancelli, after 1458 and then interrupted in 1472 by the death of Pitti and the collapse of the family's ambitions, was later altered and enlarged by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1558-70), who was called in by the Medicis to restructure the Palace. Ammannati redesigned the facade, replacing the lateral doorways with two "inginocchiate", or windows with outward curving bars (one of Michelangelo's inventions), created the great stairway that leads up to the first floor and added two rectangular wings onto the building in order to create a space for the new courtyard in the interior.

The three floors overlooking the courtyard, which can be said to be Ammannati's masterpiece, are divided up by the usual classic Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns but they are already typically Mannerist in style; the pilaster columns look almost like great knotted tree trunks and the fact that they are so close to the Boboli Gardens supports and accentuates this mixture of art and nature that was implied in the new school of thought and which was developing in a parallel way in the park itself.

The courtyard, closed off on the Boboli side by the Grotto of Moses and by the terrace above it with the Fountain of the Carciofo (Artichoke) (1641, Francesco Susini), was to play an important part in the festivities and cerimonies of the court, in particular for the wedding of Ferdinando I and Cristina of Lorraine (1589): complicated performances were staged here on this occasion, even a naval battle, which entailed flooding the entire area.

A lunette frescoed by Giusto Utens in 1599 shows us what the Pitti Palace looked like in that period and emphasizes how ambiguous the construction really was, a mixture that stood halfway between a city palace and a country residence.
The facade assumed its present aspect during the reign of Cosimo II (1590-1621) and Ferdinando II (1610-70) after further extensions were carried out by the architects Giulio Parigi (from 1620) and his son Alfonso (1640-50). The former increased the number of the windows overlooking the square from 7 to 13, while the latter lengthened the entire facade by adding another 10 windows (5 on each side), though on the two lower floors alone. As a result the palace frontage measured 205 metres in length by 36 in height.
In the meantime the Summer Apartments were created (on the ground floor to the left), frescoed by Giovanni da San Giovanni, Vannini, Furini and Cecco Bravo (1635-42); these can be seen when visiting the Silver Museum; the Monumental Apartments (on the first floor to the right) were also prepared, together with the Quarters of Pietro da Cortona (on the first floor to the left), named after the painter and author of its frescoes (1637 and 1641-47). These last rooms, and the ones next to them, known as the Quarters of Volterrano (who carried out the frescoes in the mid 17th century, for the most part since destroyed) also contain part of the Palatine Gallery. Gian Gastone's death, in 1737, and the arrival of the new Grand Dukes from the House of Hapsburg and Lorraine, was to determine the next stage in the construction of the building and the history of the Pitti Palace after the Medici.


The Pitti Palace after the Medici family

Following the various interventions that were carried out on the Pitti Palace during the reign of the Medici, the last important alterations to the building were to be made during the reign of the Lorraine family. They were carried out by architects Giuseppe Ruggeri, Gaspare Maria Paoletti and Pasquale Poccianti who, roughly between 1765 (date of the coronation of Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine) and 1820, completed the two lateral wings that curve around the square (called Rondòs) and the Palazzina of the Meridiana, in the palace grounds. The Rondò of Bacchus (on the left), previously used as a small theatre, takes its name from the side entrance into the Boboli Gardens, which in its turn is named after the statue of Bacchus (1560, Valerio Cioli) placed just past the gates, near the exit from the Vasari Corridor. The Rondò of the Coaches (on the right) contains restoration laboratories and the Coach Museum, unfortunately at present closed to the public.
The Palazzina of the Meridiana, at one time Umberto and Margherita of Savoy's favourite house (they transferred a great many neoclassical furnishings here from their palaces in Parma and Lucca), now contains the Costume Gallery and the Contini Bonacossi Collection.
Other more modest but noticeable alterations that were to effect the Pitti Palace in the 18th-19th centuries included the redecoration of some of the rooms in either neoclassical style or that of the Restoration. The White Room, once the ballroom, with stuccos by the Albertolli brothers (1776-80) and the Room of the Niches, once the dining room, redecorated in neoclassical style by Giuseppe Maria Terreni and Giuseppe Castagnoli at the end of the 18th century, are particularly interesting.
The Napoleonic period left its traces in the rooms prepared for Maria Luisa of Bourbon (the Round Chamber), Queen of Etruria between 1801 and 1803, and in the apartments designed in 1811-13 for the Emperor himself: the Napoleon Bathroom, the Vestibule and the Empress Maria Luisa's Bathroom, all designed by Giuseppe Cacialli (a pupil of Paoletti ) who, with the painter Pietro Benvenuti, was one of the most important exponents of Tuscan neoclassicism.

The post-Napoleonic Restoration (1815) and the return of Ferdinando III of Lorraine to the throne gave life to a new decorative programme in the apartments on the first floor, carried out by painters like Luigi Ademollo, Gaspare Martellini, Luigi Sabatelli, Pietro Benvenuti and Giuseppe Bezzuoli, one of the best of the early 19th century Tuscan artists.
Some of the last additions were carried out by Pasquale Poccianti: the staircase on the north side (to substitute Ammannati's "helicoidal" stairway), the so-called "Doric atrium" (1850) and the new furnishings in the apartments on the second floor (1825), previously occupied by the Library and by the rooms of younger sons of the Medici and Lorraine families. Since 1918 this wing of the palace has contained the Gallery of Modern Art, whose 30 rooms display about 2.000 works of art which are fundamental for studying the painting of the Macchiaoli or Tuscan Impressionists, who were to anticipate French Impressionism. Poccianti's alterations were completed by the architect Luigi Del Moro in 1896.


Villa Medicea La Petraia
In the first half of XVIth century, the Medici became the owners of this mansion, which then was characterized by a typical medieval design. Following a project by Buontalenti, a good number of modifications were effected, until the works were completed, by the end of the XVIth century. The structure has a square base, it is two stories high and it has maintained the ancient tower.
The entrance is immersed in a wide surrounding garden. These gardens, on three levels, mirror the typical XVIth century layout, although a few modifications were included during the XIXth century From the Italian garden you climb up to the middle fishpond, and then you reach the suspended level of the Figurine, so called because of the fountain depicting Florence’s Venus.
The entrance portal is located on the southern edge, and the symbol of the Medici-Lorena hangs over it. From the hallway you can reach the central court, decorated with frescoes by Daddi and by Volterrano.
The glass coverings in the courtyard, turned into a ballroom, and the Imperial style furnishings in the halls were ordered by Vittorio Emanuele II di Savoia. Among the major elements of interest we will remember the collection of social games (Hall of games) and the small study, hosting a bronze statue by Giambologna.
Once the crowning of the fountain on the Level of the Figurine, the statue depicts Florence’s Venus drying her hair from the waters of Arno and Mugnone. The English park on the hill behind the mansion is also worthy of a visit.
Villa Medicea della Petraia, Castello, Via della Petraia 40, Firenze | (055 452691)

Giardino dei Semplici
The Orto Botanico di Firenze (2.3 hectares), also known as the Giardino dei Semplici, the "Garden of simples",[1] is a botanical garden maintained by the University of Florence. The Botanical Gardens of Florence is one of the oldest Botanical Gardens in the world, together with Padua and Pisa.
The garden was established on December 1, 1545, by Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and is Europe's third oldest, behind the Orto Botanico di Pisa and the Orto Botanico di Padova. It was first laid out by landscape gardener Niccolò Pericoli to a botanical system and plantings chosen by Luca Ghini, and rose to prominence under Cosimo III, with Pier Antonio Micheli as its director. As was typical of early European botanical gardens, its prime interest was in medicinal plants. However, as in 1753 the Società Botanica was formed, the garden's focus turned to "experimental agriculture" and its layout was revised accordingly. The garden grounds opened to the public in the mid-19th century, at about the same time that its glass houses (1694 m²) were constructed.

Giardino della Gherardesca
The villa was built between 1472 and 1480 for Bartolommeo Scala. It was a 'casini of delights' with a garden, a nursery and a a grove designed drawn to catch small birds (a ragnaia). The present garden was made in the eighteenth century. It has paths, shrubs, trees, an Ionic temple and a tepidarium. The garden was then used for botanical collections, including azaleas.

Villa La Pietra is one of the grandest and most famous of all the villas of Florence. Preceded by a magnificent long cypress avenue and surrounded by an extensive estate with olive groves and fruit trees, it also boasts one of the loveliest gardens in Italy. Florence has been known for centuries for its villas on the low hills which surround the city. These were the country retreats of rulers and poets in the Renaissance, among them the Medici family and Humanist scholars. The villas are all beautifully sited in the countryside against the gentle contour of the low hills, and their green gardens extend into the carefully preserved landscape. At the beginning of the last century a number of distinguished Americans purchased villas in the environs when they decided to take up residence in Florence. These included Bernard Berenson at Villa I Tatti (and he bequeathed the property to Harvard) and Charles Augustus Strong at Villa Le Balze (now owned by Georgetown University), both just across the hills from the Actons' Villa La Pietra.
The site of a renaissance garden (1462) which disappeared and was replaced by an Italian Arts and Crafts garden designed by Henri Duchene for the English historian Arthur Acton. The garden is now owned by New York University. It has a theatrical character with box hedges, statuary, cypress trees.

In 1885 John Temple Leader purchased the medieval Vincigliata Castle near Fiesole, and spent twelve years redesigning it in accordance with the "Gothic revival" style popular at the time. However, a number of original crests can still be seen in the courtyard, and a fine fresco cycle dating back to the 14th century also survived the renovation work.
The 19th-century scheme was not limited to the restoration of the building but also included its surroundings: the slopes of the hill were planted with trees and dense undergrowth suited to the rocky terrain. Cypress trees were also introduced here and there, in amongst the pines and holm-oaks, creating an unusual mix of conifers and deciduous trees. Leader was assisted in his landscaping scheme by the architect Giuseppe Fancelli and hydraulics expert Alessandro Papini.

In the second half of the 19th century, Temple Leader purchased the ancient "Cava delle Colonne", a quarry whose name is a reference to the fact that the stone used to make the columns of the Princes' Chapel in the church of San Lorenzo came from here. This natural basin, which was transformed into a lake-like pool using water from the Mensola river, is the most conspicuous feature of the large romantic park.
On one side of this lake the shoreline takes the form of craggy rocks that create beautiful caves, on the other an embankment was built. The waters are overhung by the surrounding greenery and the surface is adorned with aquatic plants such as water lilies, iris, papyrus and rushes. All the buildings in the park were constructed before 1883, with the exception of the Gothic-style tower (1885-1886), the visual focal point of this charmingly atmospheric bathing area.
The tower, topped by a protruding walkway with Guelph-style crenellations, is very similar to the one on the castle's watch tower. The ladies' changing cabin, a Swiss chalet-style pile construction built over the water, is the only feature that has been lost. The so-called Maria Luisa Bridge connects the two sides of the river, beyond which stands the Kaffeehause with an elegant loggia.
This building was originally used as a storeroom for equipment used in the nearby quarries. The garden surrounding the waters of the Laghetto delle Colonne, is criss-crossed by tortuous paths that wind their way through the dense vegetation encountering on their way various typical romantic garden features: ornamental bridges, walls, statues of mythological monsters and a nymphaeum-grotto. The time when Queen Victoria came to the villa in 1893 as a guest of Temple Leader is recalled in a stone tablet.

Villa Medici at Fiesole, near Florence, is one of the oldest Renaissance residences with a garden and is also one of the best preserved, but at the same time one of the least well known. While most of the villas dating back to the same period, such as Cafaggiolo and Trebbio, stand at the centre of agricultural concerns, Villa Medici had no connections at all with farming life.
The villa was built during the mid 15th century when Cosimo de' Medici the Elder employed Michelozzo di Bartolomeo to design it for his second son, Giovanni. Intended to be a setting for intellectual life rather than a working Villa, Villa Medici was constructed to be a demonstration of aesthetic and ideological values. It owes its fame to Lorenzo il Magnifico who inherited the property in 1469 following the untimely death of his uncle. The new master of the house turned the residence into a gathering place for artists, philosophers and men of letters such as Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola and Angelo Ambrogini, known as Poliziano. The quadrangular building is a typical 15 C edifice, with square pietra serena windows and broad loggias looking out over the surroundings.
The villa remained the property of the Medici until 1671.
The geographical position of the villa on gently sloping land suggested the layout of the garden on three terraces. The first of these, at the end of an avenue lined with cypress trees that runs underneath a holm-oak wood, has large rectangular lawns with potted lemon trees. The villa's piano nobile looks out onto this part of the garden. The second terrace is overlooked by the rear of the building and is reached by an indoor staircase. This, the least heavily altered part of the garden, has flower beds lined with box hedges with a large fountain in the centre, and is laid out in the shade of large magnolia trees. The third terrace, created between 1911 and 1923 by Cecil Pinsent and Geoffrey Scott [1] is aligned longitudinally with the first, but is 11-12 m lower down. It is laid out in the Italian style, with a fine pergola positioned mid-way between the two levels. Lady Sybil's daughter and heiress, Iris Origo, later employed Cecil Pinsent for the development of the garden at La Foce, her property in the Crete Senesi near Montepulciano.

The Medici Villa at Careggi once belonged to the Medici dynasty and served as a meeting place for highly prestigious intellectuals. The villa was purchased by the Medici in 1417 and restructured by the year 1459. In the fifteenth century, the Villa di Careggi was considered their favorite residence; it became headquarters of the Platonic Academy and a place where experts in literature, philosophy and art came to gather. During the following century, Cosimo I had the villa decorated by artists like Pontormo and Bronzino. Unfortunately, these works were subsequently lost. Other decorations were commissioned in the XVII century by Cardinal Carlo de’ Medici. After changing hands several times over the course of the centuries, the villa became property of the Careggi Hospital in 1936.
This fifteenth century residence, where Lorenzo the Magnificent died, was built on a plan by the architect Michelozzo. Today, it is the headquarters of Careggi Hospital’s administrative offices. Nonetheless, it continues to be an architectural monument that is open to visitors. Guests to the museum can take advantage of a free brochure containing historical references about the villa in both English and Italian. The villa is still primarily characterized by its original architectural lines. Visitors are sure to appreciate its seventeenth century decorations and its monumental atmosphere, furnished with frescoes and fine furnishings.

The gardens and estate of La Foce constitute one of the most important and best kept early twentieth-century gardens in Italy. Amid 3,500 acres of farmland in the countryside near Pienza, with sweeping views of the Tuscan landscape, La Foce was the childhood dream garden of the late writer Marchesa Iris Origo. Passionate about the order and symmetry of Florentine gardens, Origo and her husband, Antonio, purchased the dilapidated villa in 1924, soliciting the help of English architect and family friend Cecil Pinsent to reawaken the natural magic of the property. Pinsent designed the structure of simple, elegant, box-edged beds and green enclosures that give shape to the Origos' shrubs, perennials, and vines, and created a garden of soaring cypress walks, native cyclamen, lawns, and wildflower meadows. It is, by all accounts, a remarkable achievement.
Situated in the Val d'Orcia, a wide valley in southeastern Tuscany that seems to exist on a larger, wilder scale than the rest of the Tuscan landscape, it is run by Benedetta and Donata Origo, and is open to the public one day a week.

Villa Poggio Torselli, near San Casciano Val di Pesa, is one of the largest and most elegant residences in the area of the San Casciano Hills, near Florence. Known in the past as the “queen of all villas”, it appeared on record as early as 1427 bearing the name of “Poggio Torselli”.
It was the property of some of the most remarkable patrician families in Tuscany: Macchiavelli, Corsini, Strozzi, Antonori, Capponi and Orlandini, who owned the villa until 1722. The "Season s' Garden", created in the 18th century offers the most astonishing image of its rebirth in April, with the scented blossom of the splendid bulbous plants: narcissus, tulips, hyacinths and many others spring plants such as, in particular, the firittilaria also known as "imperial crown" because of the orange tuft of bell-shaped, pendolous flowers surmounting the bottom of the stem that, thanks to its charme deserved one of the most clamorous nobilty's title of Villa Poggio Torselli.
But, not less perfumed and gorgeous is the exotic summer of the garden, crowned by plants of dahlia, sage, multicolour clematis and Indian giant ibiscus. And, in every season, the entire garden is surrounded by the golden crown of 120 secular lemon trees.
Gardens in Tuscany | The Villa Poggio Torselli

The Villa di Catignano was built at the end of XVII° century by the ancestor of the currents proprietors, Quinto Settano, pseudonym of Monsignor Lodovico Sergardi, a writer and a lover of the arts. The small borough already existed in 1500 with the name of "Clatinianum" as a property of Sergardi family. Nowadays the Villa, overlooking a beautiful italian garden, decorated with statues representing the four season, and the medievaltowers of Siena in the distance, welcomes guests who appreciate historical sites and suggestive atmospheres.

Villa I Tatti
Villa I Tatti in Settignano was home to Bernard Berenson, the Lithuanian Jew who became America's most illustrious critic and connoisseur of Renaissance art. For 50 years it was a mecca for intellectuals and collectionists from the world over. Today the art collection and library serve as a research facility for Harvard University.
In 1900, Bernhard Berenson bought a villa in the Tuscan hills of Settignano, outside Florence. Villa I Tatti subsequently would be forever associated with Berenson. The gardens of the Villa I Tatti were created by the English landscape architect Cecil pinsent and Geoffrey Scott.
The newly married art historians Bernard and Mary Berenson made their home at the Villa I Tatti near Florence in 1900. In the following years Mary, supervised the rebuilding of the villa and the creation of its elegant gardens. The Berensons pursued their work at I Tatti over a period of nearly six decades, and here they entertained a remarkable circle of friends :art historians ( Kenneth Clark, John Walker, John Pope-Hennessy), writers (Edith Wharton, Alberto Moravia), political thinkers (Walter Lippman, Gaetano Salvermini), musicians (Yehudi Menuhin) and countless other visitors from every part of the world. At I Tatti Bernard Berenson assmbled a choice collection of Renaissance art, including works by Giotto, Sassetta, Domenico Veneziano, and Lorenzo Lotto. He also formed a prodigious art historical research library and photograph collection. When he died in 1959, he bequeathed the house, its contents, and the gardens to Harvard University as a Center for Renaissance Studies.