Boboli garden

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View of the Pitti Palace from the Boboli Gardens
The interior of the Buontalentis grotto

The Boboli Gardens ( Giardino di Boboli ) is a park in Florence and home to an important collection of sculptures.

The complex, which lies behind the Palazzo Pitti , the main seat of the Medici as Grand Dukes of Tuscany , is one of the most famous Italian gardens of the 16th century. In the horticultural style of the time, it has long axes, wide gravel paths, considerable "furniture" with stone elements, the lavish use of statues and fountains, and a division into semi-private and public areas, which was formed by classic accents: grottos , nymphs , Garden temples and the like. The openness of the garden, which allows an extensive view over the city, was unusual for the time.

The Boboli Garden was laid out by Eleonora of Toledo , the wife of Grand Duke Cosimo I. The land for the garden was bought from a Bogoli family, from which its name is derived. The first phase had just started by Niccolo Tribolo when he died in 1550 and was continued by Bartolomeo Ammanati , who was assisted in the planning by Giorgio Vasari , who also built some of the caves, while the sculptures are by Bernardo Buontalenti . The architecture of the grotto in the courtyard that separates the palace from the garden is also by Buontalenti.

The main axis, which is directed towards the rear facade of the palazzo, rises from a low-lying amphitheater - the shape of which is reminiscent of half a classic hippodrome - up to the Boboli hill. In the middle of the amphitheater is an Egyptian obelisk that was brought here from the Villa Medici in Rome . This main axis ends at the Neptune fountain (which the irreverent Florentines call the “fork fountain”) and a sculpture by Stoldo Lorenzi . A long second axis at right angles to the main axis leads through a series of terraces and water features.

The garden was expanded and rebuilt in several phases. In the 17th century it got its current size of 4.5 hectares. It is now an open-air museum of garden sculpture, including Roman antiquities as well as works from the 16th and 17th centuries.

In the first phase of the work, the amphitheater was excavated on the slope behind the palace. Initially consisting of dug terraces, it was later built in stone and provided with statues based on ancient mythology , such as the Okeanos Fountain, which was carved by Giambologna , and only later its current location at another location in the Garden got. The small Madama grotto and the large grotto were started by Vasari and completed by Ammanati and Buontalenti between 1583 and 1593.

The great grotto is a notable example of mannerism . Decorated inside and outside with stalactites , and originally provided with water features and lush vegetation, the grotto is divided into three main parts. The first was to create the impression of a natural grotto with frescoes, in which shepherds could protect themselves from wild animals, and originally contained Michelangelo's "The Prisoners" (now replaced by copies, the originals are in the Galleria dell'Accademia ), which actually intended for the grave of Pope Julius II . Other rooms of the cave contain Giambologna's famous Bathing Venus and Paris - and - Helena group of Vincenzo de Rossi in the 16th century.

The facility can be visited, the entrance fee is charged.

Web links

Commons : Giardino di Boboli  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 43 ° 45 ′ 47 "  N , 11 ° 15 ′ 5"  E