Boboli gardens emphasis. The magnificent boboli gardens in florence

Boboli Gardens(Italian: Giardino di Boboli) - a famous park in Florence, one of the best park ensembles Italian Renaissance.

The Boboli Gardens are located on the slopes of Boboli Hill behind Palazzo Pitti, the main residence of the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany and are one of the most famous works of landscape art of the 16th century. In accordance with the tastes of the time, the park is divided by long axial paths, wide gravel paths, and is decorated with decorative stone elements, statues and fountains. The Boboli Gardens are divided into a private zone with limited access and a public zone with grottoes, nymphs, and open garden temples with colonnades made in the classical style. An unusual feature of the Boboli Gardens for its time is the magnificent views of the city that open from them. Wide access to the gardens was opened in 1766.

The foundation of the Pitti Palace and garden is associated with the name of one of the richest merchants of Florence, Luca Pitti, who, being an ardent rival of the Medici family, sought to surpass them in the luxury of the chambers being built. Ironically, it was Cosimo de' Medici's wife, Eleonora of Toledo, who became the owner of the Pitti Palace just a few decades later. The arrangement of the park was entrusted to Niccolò Tribolo, and after his death in 1550, his work was continued by Bartolomeo Ammanati; Giorgio Vasari also participated in the design and construction of several grottoes. The sculptures for the Boboli Gardens were made by Bernardo Buontalenti, who also designed the grotto in the courtyard separating the palace from the gardens.

The main axial path, leading between cypress trees and holm oaks to the rear façade of Palazzo Pitti, begins at the bottom of the amphitheater, shaped like half of a classical hippodrome, and rises up to Boboli Hill. In the center of the amphitheater is an ancient Egyptian obelisk from Luxor, brought here from the Roman Villa Medici. This main path is crowned by the Fountain of Neptune, which the Florentines jokingly call the fork fountain, and the sculpture of Stoldo Lorenzi. Another center path in the right corner from the main path leads through a series of terraces and fountains.

The Boboli Gardens have been reconstructed several times. The park acquired its current area of 4.5 hectares in the 17th century. Currently, the Boboli Gardens are a museum of garden sculpture under open air, where both ancient antiquities and works of the 16th and 17th centuries are presented.

The development of the Boboli Gardens can be divided into two stages. At the first stage, on the site of a former quarry in Boboli Hill, the first axis of the garden was laid, which runs from the rear facade of the Pitti Palace through Boboli Hill to the Neptune Fountain. This stage of development of the gardens covers the period 1554-1583. first under the leadership of Niccolo Pericoli, and then of the talented Florentine Mannerist architect Bartolomeo Ammanati.

The second stage of development of the Boboli Gardens is associated with their significant expansion beyond the boundaries of the bastions erected during the war with Siena. During this period, a second axis of the park appeared, perpendicular to the first, which stretches from the Neptune Fountain to the Ocean Fountain. This stage began in 1612 and was carried out under the leadership of Giulio Parigi until 1631. It was under him that Cypress Alley was founded in 1630, which has existed to this day.

Just behind the rear facade of the Pitti Palace with its Artichoke fountain and small geometric garden there is a wonderful view of the large amphitheater by Giulio Parigi. It was he who transformed the former regular garden-amphitheater into open area for theatrical performances. The amphitheater, similar to half of a Roman hippodrome, is framed by stonework in the form of a staircase with six rows of seats and a balustrade with two dozen niches. Initially, the niches were filled with antique statues with figures of dogs and other animals on the sides; later the animal figures were replaced by terracotta urns with imitation marble. It is known that the world's first opera performances took place in this amphitheater. In the 19th century, the amphitheater lost its theatrical function and a granite fountain and an Egyptian obelisk were installed in its center.

An ancient Egyptian obelisk from Luxor (1279-1212 BC) was taken to Rome among several now erected in St. Peter's Square and Popolo, and then ended up in the Villa Medici. Italian architects of the Renaissance eagerly used Egyptian obelisks as the main accents, and this tradition later spread to other countries. Imitations of Egyptian obelisks were also erected in Russia, for example the Rumyantsev Obelisk in St. Petersburg or the Kagul Obelisk in Tsarskoye Selo.

There is a steep climb up from the amphitheater, at the beginning of which there is a statue of Ceres. There are also statues of famous Romans and the emperor. At the top of the Boboli Gardens, the rise is crowned by a second amphitheater, the earthen terraces of which, in the form of steps, frame a pond with the Neptune Fountain in a semicircle. It is possible that the garden behind the Pitti Palace looked like this before it was rebuilt into an amphitheater by the architect Giulio Parigi. The earthen terraces of the amphitheater are partially framed by pruned plane trees. In the center of the square there is an irregularly shaped pond, which is located on the site of an old pond from the 16th century. In the pond there is a fountain by the mannerist sculptor Stoldo Lorenzi with a bronze statue of Neptune surrounded by naiads and tritons, which the Florentines jokingly call the “fountain with a fork.”

From the fountain, if you are facing the Pitti Palace, there is a diagonal path to the right to the Kaffehaus coffee house from the late 18th century. Its appearance was due to the new Western European tradition of drinking coffee in the fresh air. The coffee house is currently under restoration. From the coffee house, the “agricultural zone” of the Boboli Gardens stretches down with gravel paths, low trimmed hedges and young plantings of fruit crops. At the bottom of the area is the circular Ganymede fountain by Stoldo Lorenzi, in the center of which is a bowl topped with sculptures of a youth and an eagle. The composition is dedicated to the story of the abduction of Ganymede, who, due to his extraordinary beauty was carried by the eagle of Zeus to Olympus.

If you go back and, before reaching the Neptune Fountain, turn onto the second main axis of the Boboli Gardens, you can go to Cypress Alley. Here begins the second part of the gardens, which developed at the beginning of the 17th century. Along the alley there are statues mostly from the 16th century, but there are also antique ones among them. Towards the end of the alley there are statues from the 17th century depicting games that were popular at that time. In the depths of the right alley of plane trees you can see the arch of Limonaia, a greenhouse for growing lemon trees, built by Zanobi Del Rosso in 1785. The greenhouse is still used today for storing several hundred potted citrus trees during the cold season.

Pond Island or Isolotto. An oval-shaped pond by Alfonso Parigi (1614) frames the island with a formal Baroque garden. Closer to summer, the island is decorated with trimmed boxwood hedges and plantings of ancient varieties of roses and bulbs, complemented by numerous potted citrus fruits. It is known that Alfonso Parigi, when creating Isolotto, took as a basis Marine Theater, located in Villa Adriana near Tivoli. In the center of the garden stands the Ocean fountain by the early Baroque sculptor Giambologna (1576) with statues of Neptune and other gods representing the great rivers Nile, Ganges and Euphrates.

The alley continues beyond the pond to the Lawn of Columns, which is a semicircular open space framed by plantings of tall plane trees. In the corners of the lawn, closer to the semicircle of plane trees, Paoletti placed two columns, and in the niches of the trimmed hedge framing the Lawn of Columns, a dozen antique busts.

– great place to take a break from the bustle of the city and tiring runs to the sights and shops. And also feast your eyes with beautiful grottoes, fountains, gazebos and flower beds, because there is a lot to see here. At all times, the Boboli Gardens were considered the perfection of landscape design, and more than once served as an example for the creation of other royal parks in Europe, such as the famous park complex of the French Versailles.

History of creation

The Boboli Gardens, named after the hill on which they are located, were founded by Eleanor of Toledo, wife of the great Tuscan Duke Cosimo I de' Medici. The Duchess had this idea immediately after she acquired the palace in 1549 from the descendants of the influential but bankrupt Pitti family.

Huge territory untouched land, which stretched behind the palace, as if it had been specially created for the future park, and from the top of the hill a beautiful panorama of the city opened up.

Panorama of Florence from Boboli Hill

Initially, the court gardener and decorator Niccolo Tribolo worked on the arrangement of the park, but his early death did not allow him to complete his plan. Bartolomeo Ammanati (creator of the Neptune fountain on) took up the matter next. According to his idea, the center of the park area became the amphitheater, and its main highlight was the ancient Egyptian obelisk from Luxor, specially brought here from the ducal Roman villa.

Giorgio Vasari, who created most of the park grottoes, and his student Bernardo Buontalenti, who left behind beautiful sculptures decorating the garden, also contributed to the arrangement of the gardens.

Eleanor of Toledo acquired the Pitti Palace in 1549

Over the years, the owners changed: the Medici were replaced by the dynasty of the Dukes of Lorraine, and they, in turn, were replaced by representatives of the royal family. Along with them, the Boboli Gardens also underwent changes. Everyone tried to expand the park area, embellish it and bring in something new of their own.

Composition of the Boboli Gardens in Florence

Cypress Alley, founded by Giulio Parigi in 1630, is perfectly preserved, and today it saves you from the heat and pleases the eye. It is along it that the main park path runs, which starts at the amphitheater and leads to the decorative terrace at the very top of the hill. This is the highlight of the trip and is rewarded with a breathtaking panorama of Florence, with its red roofs and church domes.

But even before the hill, a lot of surprises and impressions await you, and they begin with the amphitheater, which in its shape resembles the Roman classical hippodrome, or rather, half of it. By the way, the very first opera performances in the world began to take place here (1476).

The world's first opera performance took place in the amphitheater in 1476.

The fountains “Neptune”, “Ocean”, “Artichoke Fountain” and the round fountain “Ganymede” will help you cool down in the heat. Visitors to the park especially like the small man-made lake Isolotto, the work of Alfonso Parigi (1614), with a small island - a garden inside.

Flower beds, rose gardens and flower beds, hedges of plane trees and boxwoods are fragrant in the Boboli Gardens in Florence almost all year round, changing smells and colors according to the season. The huge number of statues is also striking, starting with ancient images of the emperor and famous Romans and ending with the works of famous Italian masters of the 16th-17th centuries.

Alleys and hedges of plane trees and boxwoods are everywhere in the Gardens

Among other attractions of the Gardens, one cannot fail to mention the Coffee House, which appeared here at the end of the 18th century as a tribute to the newfangled tradition. In the open air, local nobles enjoyed both beautiful view, and the fragrance of flowers, and aromatic coffee.

The coffee house appeared here at the end of the 18th century

Grottoes at the Boboli Gardens

The grottoes in the Boboli Gardens deserve special attention. There are only four of them here and each is a separate work of art:

The Great Grotto or Grotto of Buontalenti (Grotta del Buontalenti) was created during 1583-1593, consists of three rooms and is considered a masterpiece of Mannerist architecture.

The Buontalenti Grotto is considered a masterpiece of Mannerist architecture

The grotto is decorated with artificial stalactites on the outside and inside, and the façade is decorated with stucco, mosaics and statues. The premises are painted with frescoes and decorated with sculptures, including such famous ones as a copy famous work Michelangelo's "Slaves", "The Bathing of Venus" by Giambologna and Vincenzo de Rossi's composition "Paris and Helen".

Small Grotto “Madama” (Grotta di Madama), also by Bernardo Buontalenti. The plot of the Greek myth about Amalthea inspired the master when designing it.

"Moses' Grotto" (Grotta di Mosè) was created on biblical themes by Bartolomeo Ammanati.

But the fourth - “Grotto of Adam and Eve” (Grotta di Adamo ed Eva) - was erected later than all of them, in 1817.

The premises of the Buontalenti Grotto are painted with frescoes and decorated with sculptures

Opening hours and how to visit

You can visit the Boboli Gardens in Florence, recognized as one of the best park ensembles of the Italian Renaissance, all year round: access to the general public has been open here since 1766. Exceptions to the rule are January 1, December 25 and days of technical work, which are the first and last Mondays of each months.

Entry to Bobley Gardens is permitted from 8:15 am and closes 1 hour before closing; its timing differs depending on the season:

From June to the end of August the park is open until 18:50;
September-October – until 18:30;
From November to February – until 16:30;
March – until 17:30;
April, May – until 18:30

Locals jokingly call the Neptune Fountain “the fountain with a fork.”

How to get there

If you are in Florence itself, you can get to Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens by public transport– city buses No. 11 and No. 36 regularly run there. Go to the San Felice stop.

Well, if you are staying in Rome, Milan, Bologna or Pisa, you just need to set aside just one day from your schedule and the travel time to Florence will take:

From Bologna - only 37 minutes,
From Pisa – exactly 1 hour,
– 1 hour 35 min.,
– 1 hour 45 minutes.

Boboli Gardens (Italian: Giardino di Boboli) is a famous park in Florence, one of the best park ensembles of the Italian Renaissance.

The gardens are located on the slopes of Boboli Hill behind Palazzo Pitti, the main residence of the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

The Boboli Gardens are rightfully considered one of the best examples of Renaissance gardening art in Italy and are among the ten most beautiful gardens in the world, standing in this ranking next to the famous Versailles.

This one is amazing beautiful park Thanks to its location on a hill, it towers over Florence and a masterpiece of Italian landscape art of the 16th century. The paths, strewn with rustling gravel, resemble labyrinths, here and there covered with ivy, shaded by tall oaks and graceful cypresses.

At different times, members of the royal families of the Medici and Lorraine, dukes, aristocrats walked through the park... This beautiful park witnessed the completion of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot”.

It was here that the Dostoevsky couple lived in 1868-1869. The writer's wife, Anna, was pregnant, and fresh air was assigned to her. Later, Anna Dostoevskaya will more than once remember walks with her husband in the park, where roses were blooming already in January.

The history of the creation of the Boboli Gardens began in 1550 with the acquisition by Eleanor of Toledo, wife of Duke Casimo I de' Medici, of the Piti Palace, which later became the family residence.

The creation of the future masterpiece of landscape art was entrusted to the architect Niccolo Pericoli, and after his death, work on the complex was continued by the sculptures Bartolomeo Ammanati, architects Giorgio Vasari, Bernardo Buontalenti and others.

Currently, the Boboli Gardens cover an area of 4.5 hectares, and extend from the hill behind the Pitti Palace all the way to Porta Romana. The park acquired its modern outline in 1612, when it was decided to expand the occupied space beyond the bastions and create a cypress alley.

For a long time, the territory of the Gardens was private, and only since 1766 access was opened here.

It is noteworthy that the Boboli Gardens are not only a beautiful park created in the best traditions of Italian gardening art, but also a unique open-air museum of garden sculpture, which presents both monuments of antiquity and works of famous masters of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Here you can see Michelangelo's Slaves (however, a copy of the sculpture is now installed in the park; the original is in the Accademia Gallery).

Neptune with Naiads and Tritons by Stoldo Lorenzi.

The marble statue of Abundance, created by Giambologna with the help of Pietro Tacca and Sebastiano Salvini, the statues of Dionysus and Ceres by Baccio Bandinelli and many others.

It is in this park that there is an amphitheater where the very first opera performances in the world took place. In the center of the amphitheater there is an ancient Egyptian obelisk from Luxor, brought here from the Roman Villa Medici and dating back to the reign of Ramesses II (1279-1212 BC)

Buontalenti Grotto

Boboli is also very valuable from the point of view of landscape design - alleys of cypresses and hollies, harmoniously dividing the space; boxwood hedges, lawns and flowers, giving it exceptional interest and extraordinary attractiveness; containers of citrus fruits forming the Isolotto island garden.

The Boboli Gardens are part of a single museum complex Pitti Palace.

There are museums in the park and in the palace itself.

Boboli Gardens (Florence, Italy): detailed description, address and photo. Opportunities for sports and recreation, infrastructure, cafes and restaurants in the park. Reviews from tourists.

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The world-famous Boboli Gardens, located next to the residence of the Medici Dukes, Palazzo Pitti, are considered a museum of garden sculpture. Why is this park so interesting? Firstly, it is very beautiful - there are a huge number of all kinds of terraces, fountains, grottoes and gazebos. Secondly, the gardens contain sculptures created at different times - from antiquity to the 17th century. And finally, the most important argument - the Boboli gardens served as a model according to which all European royal parks, including Versailles. It is also worth admiring this park because it offers a beautiful panoramic view of Florence.

The Boboli Gardens, located in Florence, served as a model for all European royal parks, including Versailles.

The park owes its name to the hill of the same name. The idea to create a park here belonged to Eleanor of Toledo, the wife of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici. She wanted to create not just a beautiful park, but the best one to highlight the wealth and influence of her family. The best Italian architects and sculptors have been working on bringing the idea to life since 1549.

Boboli Gardens

The Boboli Gardens have always hosted a lot of the most various events. Under the Medici, lavish receptions were held here, performances and celebrations were held. Today, the park also often hosts musical and theatrical performances, as well as exhibitions. By the way, the park has been open to visitors since 1766.

The Boboli Gardens are home to an amphitheater that hosted the very first opera performances in the world. The amphitheater is also interesting because it houses an Egyptian obelisk brought from Luxor.

The Boboli Gardens are divided by long center paths and wide gravel paths. It is worth noting that on the main axial path you will be able to see the Neptune Fountain. Locals They jokingly call it a fountain with a fork. By the way, almost all sculptures have their own historical value. For example, near one of the grottoes there are statues of slaves - exact copies of Michelangelo’s “Slaves”. Nearby there is a statue of a fat man sitting astride a turtle - this is the court jester of Duke Cosimo I.

It is known that the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky and his wife loved to walk in the Boboli Gardens.

Practical information

Price entrance ticket 10 EUR (high season). The gardens open at 8:15 all year round, but close depending on the season. From November to February the gardens are open until 16:30. In March - until 17:30. In April, May, September and October - until 18:30. From June to August you can walk in Boboli Park until 19:30.

Prices on the page are as of September 2018.

Plan of the Boboli Gardens:

The reverse side of the Pitti Palace. Amanati Courtyard. The world famous Boboli Gardens, located next to the residence of the Medici Dukes:

The main axial path, leading between cypresses and holm oaks to the rear facade of Palazzo Pitti, begins at the bottom of the amphitheater, reminiscent in its shape of half a classical hippodrome, and rises up to Boboli Hill. In the center of the amphitheater is an ancient Egyptian obelisk from Luxor, brought here from the Roman Villa Medici. This main path is crowned by the Fountain of Neptune, which the Florentines jokingly call the fork fountain. The sculpture was created by Stoldo Lorenzi in 1571, and the fountain itself was made only in 1777-78. Another center path in the right corner from the main path leads through a series of terraces and fountains.

Just behind the rear facade of the Pitti Palace with its Artichoke fountain and small geometric garden there is a wonderful view of the large amphitheater by Giulio Parigi. It was he who transformed the former regular garden-amphitheater into an open area for theatrical performances. The amphitheater, similar to half of a Roman hippodrome, is framed by stonework in the form of a staircase with six rows of seats and a balustrade with two dozen niches. Initially, the niches were filled with antique statues with figures of dogs and other animals on the sides; later the animal figures were replaced by terracotta urns with imitation marble. It is known that the world's first opera performances took place in this amphitheater. In the 19th century, the amphitheater lost its theatrical function and a granite fountain and an Egyptian obelisk were installed in its center.

Neptune Fountain:

Nicolo Tribolo was invited to create a masterpiece of landscape art, but, unfortunately, the master was given only one year and after his death the work was continued by Bartolomeo Ammanati.

Porcelain Museum. This museum is located in the Casino del Cavalieri mansion, built in the 17th century on the top of a hill, from where it offers beautiful views of the Boboli Gardens. It was opened in 1973, and its collections largely consist of porcelain tableware that once belonged to the royal dynasties that ruled Tuscany.

The exhibits also include gifts from Napoleon Bonaparte to his sister Elisa Bacciochi, who was the Grand Duchess of Tuscany in the 19th century. These are beautiful vases and a set of dishes created at the Sevres manufactory. At that time, porcelain had just begun to be developed in Europe; before that, it was produced only in China. The oldest exhibits in the museum are considered to be those that belonged to Gian Gastone, the last Grand Duke of the Medici dynasty. He lived at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries.

Boboli Gardens, Coffee House (Kaffeehaus):

I don’t remember what kind of buildings these are??? And behind it is a panorama of Florence:

Alleys and hedges are everywhere in the Gardens:

Again there is a gap in my memory, I don’t remember what kind of building this is??? Possibly the Limonaia greenhouse, built by Zanobi Del Rosso in 1778:

Shady plane tree alley:

Fountain "Harvest":

Cypress Alley:

Cypress Alley. Here begins the second part of the gardens, which developed at the beginning of the 17th century. Along the alley there are statues mainly from the 16th century, but among them there are also antique ones:

Statue of Abundantia, the goddess of abundance, in memory of Duchess Joan of Austria (1547-78):

We approach Ostrovka or Isolotto. An oval-shaped pond by Alfonso Parigi (1614) frames the island with a formal Baroque garden. Closer to summer, the island is decorated with trimmed boxwood hedges and plantings of ancient varieties of roses and bulbs, complemented by numerous potted citrus fruits. It is known that Alfonso Parigi, when creating Isolotto, took as a basis the Maritime Theater located in Hadrian's Villa near Tivoli. In the center of the garden stands the Ocean fountain by the early Baroque sculptor Giambologna (1576) with statues of Neptune and other gods personifying the great rivers Nile, Ganges and Euphrates:

Giovanni Battista Pierratti (1599-1662): Andromeda and the Monster, between 1630 and 1662, in white marble and bronze:

Ocean Fountain, Giambologna:

The pond is surrounded by trimmed boxwood hedges:

On the island there are a lot of lemon trees in large pots with lemons of varying degrees of maturity:

Buontalenti Grotto:

We approached the Buontalenti Grotto at a time when it was closed. We tried to see at least something through the bars. Suddenly, a pleasant middle-aged woman (a museum employee) approached us, opened the entrance to the grotto for us and gestured for us to enter. Then it turned out that through the window she saw our funny poses that we involuntarily took to see the grotto. Then she waited patiently while we examined and photographed the parts. Many thanks to this Italian woman who helped us.

Buontalenti Grotto. Let's take a look at the famous Great Grotto ("Grotta Grande"), which Buontalenti worked on in 1583-1593. commissioned by Francesco I de' Medici: the result was an unusual combination of painting, sculpture and architecture. Until 1924, it housed Michelangelo's unfinished Slaves, which can now be admired in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence. The theme of the grotto is formless matter, which, as a result of alchemy, achieves harmony: stones, stalactites and shells of the walls form figures of people and animals, carved by Pietro Mati.

Buontalenti Grotto. Frescoes by Bernardino Poccetti:

The artificial Buontalenti grotto is decorated with copies of Michelangelo’s “Slaves”:

In the second hall of the Grotto there is a sculpture by Vincenzo de Rossi "Paris and Helen", created in 1560:

Of course, we were in a hurry, realizing that we were delaying a museum employee.

We left this alley after visiting the Boboli Gardens:

On the other side of the alley is a sculpture located symmetrically to the first:

At the very entrance to the Boboli Gardens there is a sculpture of Morganta, the court dwarf of the ruler Cosimo I de' Medici, riding a turtle. Sculptor: Valerio Cioli, 1560.