Boboli Gardens, the vast park adjacent to Pitti Palace, are an important feature in Florence’s history. One of the first examples of ‘giardino all’italiana‘ (Italianate garden), it started its life as a Renaissance-style garden under the Medici. It then became a symbol of grandeur for the different rulers of Florence that resided in the Pitti Palace, as well as a model for various European royal palaces.
Here we recount briefly the different stages of Boboli’s construction and its creation, starting with the Medici acquisition and carrying on with the Lorraine dynasty in the 18th.
Having gone through a great number of changes, enlargements and renovations throughout the centuries the story of Boboli is varied and fascinating. Here we give you an introduction to the history of this exceptional Florentine garden that reflected how taste and necessity changed over time.
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Contents
Boboli Gardens in Florence – A Brief History
Declared Unesco Heritage site in 2013, Boboli is the most important Medici garden, both for its size (45 hectares), and the richness of decorations that make it a splendid open-air museum.
The history of Boboli Gardens is naturally linked to that of Palazzo Pitti, the grand palace that became the official residence of Florence’s rulers. First Gran Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, then the Lorraine dynasty, to the time when Florence briefly served as Capital of Italy (between 1865 and 1871).
Part of the gardens were first opened to the public in 1766.
When the Medici bought Pitti Palace
But how did Boboli come into being? It all started when Eleonora di Toledo, the wife of Cosimo I de’ Medici – who became ruler of Florence in 1537 – decided that Palazzo Vecchio (their residence in the city centre) was not good enough for them.
She had her eyes on the splendid kingly palace in the Oltrarno, whose owners could not longer afford it. And so in 1550 she bought it from the impoverished Pitti family (hence the name Pitti Palace). It was a large palace, more salubrious, surrounded by green hills, a perfect place to raise a family and entertain nobles. It soon became a symbol of the Medici taste, power and greatness.
The Creation of Boboli Garden
Before starting the renovation works in the Palace, Eleonora busied herself buying new land, to make a larger garden. She gave the design job to the Mannerist artist and architect Tribolo, who excavated the hill right behind the palace. Plants, trees, “edges and evergreen meadows” were all harnessed to transform nature into an orderly space.
That’s how the first part of Boboli Gardens was created. If you enter the gardens from the main entrance in Pitti Palace, (through the vast beautiful courtyard) you find yourself in what is the oldest part of the gardens. Later on was this area was enriched with the stone amphitheatre that you see today.
First Decorative Features: Grottoes & Mannerist Taste
One of the first decorative features to appear were the artificial grottoes. The Madama grotto is the oldest, commissioned by Eleonora di Toledo and built around 1570. The famous Grotta Grande was commissioned by Francesco I de’ Medici and created between 1583-93 by Buontalenti, the artist who took over the garden’s design work after Tiepolo and Ammannati.
In Boboli you can in fact find some of the very first grottoes ever created, that became a distinctive feature in the Italian Renaissance.
What are grottoes? During the 16th centuries artificial grottoes became a must-have feature. This trend started in Italy, and soon spread to European courts. These wondrous places, were made to look real, and usually adorned with shells, corals, pebbles and mosaics. Statues of animals, nymphs, or other amphibious creatures emerging from rocks were other common decorations, and the moss growing on the grotto’s surfaces would enhance the fusion of natural and artificial elements.
Boboli grottoes are found near the main entrance, close to the palace. Here’s where you find another curious-looking example of the ‘grotesque’ Mannerist taste: the Bacchino fountain (1560). It’s a statue of a stark naked dwarf riding a turtle, by artist Cioli who portrayed Cosimo I de Medici’s favourite court’s dwarf Morgante (the statue you see here today is a copy).
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The Amphitheatre – A Stage for Shows
The natural amphitheatre right behind the palace became the perfect stage for all the magnificent spectacles and entertainment that was to come. Stone steps were built, and the new structure was inaugurated in 1637, during the crowning ceremony for the wife of Ferdinando II de’ Medici.
Other decorations were added with time. The elaborate Artichoke Fountain, situated on a terrace of Pitti Palace, was created by Florentine sculptor Susini in 1641 (to replace an older fountain by Ammannati), in a mix of Mannerist and Baroque style.
In the 1789 the Egyptian obelisk was placed at the centre of the amphitheatre (N.B. -> this is one of Florence’s most ancient artworks, dating back to 1300 BC!). The granite basin at its base comes from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, and was added in 1841.
The series of statues that watch over the amphitheatre from their niches are from early 19th century.
The most spectacular celebratory show took place in 1739, when Francis of Lorraine and his wife Maria Teresa d’Austria came to Florence, to take possession of the Gran Duke of Tuscany. A great machine was set in the middle of the amphitheatre for fire works. This is when Florence saw the end of the Medici dynasty – when GianGastone died heirless in 1737 – and the Tuscany region was given to the House of Lorraine.
The amphitheatre was also the setting for the huge ‘welcoming’ show given by Mussolini to Hitler in 1938.
Neptune Fountain
Behind the amphitheatre a steep walk takes you to the large Neptune Basin, with the impressive Neptune Fountain (1565-7) at its centre, and the Statue of Abundance (1608-1637) right atop the hill.
This is Boboli’s highest point, where the garden meets the Medieval city walls. Today the 16th century Palazzina del Cavaliere (redesigned at the end of 1700 in Neoclassical style) hosts the Porcelain Museum.
Boboli Gets Bigger – the Viottolone, 17th century
The ‘second stage’ of Boboli garden’s history is represented by the ample and steep avenue that runs downhill from the Neptune Fountain to Porta Romana (parallel to Palazzo Pitti), called the Viottolone. Added in 1637, the scenic viale is flanked by cypress trees and laurel plants. Many statues – from different eras (some ancient, but mainly from 17th and 18th century) – adorn both sides.
To access the Viottolone you walk through the Prato dell’Uccellare – where you find the first contemporary statue set in Boboli: a huge head, “Tindaro Screpolato” (1999) by Igor Mitoraj. From here great views!
At the end of the Viottolone is the Vasca dell’Isola – really a small island surrounded by a moat – with at its centre a copy of Giambologna’s statue Oceanus (the original is at Bargello Museum).
Originally, on the left side of the Viottolone there would have been a labyrinth. Sadly for us, it was destroyed in 1834 to create space for a larger avenue used by carriages (Viale delle Carrozze). Today this part doesn’t have any major sight a part from the intriguing looking fountain ‘dei mostaccini’, made of sixteen basins decorated with monstrous faces (1620).
Did you know? => There was a time when this part of Boboli was used as hunting ground and for agricultural purpose. Traces of this old ‘role’ are the ragnaie – thick woody areas with nets to capture smaller birds – and ‘cerchiate‘ – archways of tree branches that created shelter for plants stored here – that can be still seen today.
The Lorraine Dynasty and New Addictions to Boboli Gardens
To the right of the Viottolone, along the city wall you find the late 18th century Limonaia (Orangerie) by Zanobi del Rosso. This is one of the additions made by the Lorraine dynasty, after they took possession of Florence in 1737. They reconverted a building that was used by Cosimo III de Medici as a menagerie for exotic animals.
The Lorraine also added the rococò-style Kaffeehouse (1776), an elegant pavillion with a terraced garden from where there’s a great view of Florence, and the Palazzina della Meridiana (1776) in Neoclassical style, that today is home to the Galleria del Costume.
Boboli Gardens History in Recent Time
Boboli became state property in 1860, at the time of the Unification of Italy, when the King of Italy briefly resided in Pitti Palace (from 1865 to 1871).
From 2013 Boboli Gardens has become one of Tuscany’s Unesco Sites.
If you’re visiting Florence and would like to learn more about Boboli Gardens History, check out one of the informative Guided Tours with a professional guide.
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Author: Sabrina Nesi, founder of Lovefromtuscany.com, passionate about sharing the beauty of Tuscany and Italy with the world.
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