Here you find some interest information about parks and gardens worth visiting during your stay in Tuscany.
GIARDINO DELLE ROSE - Florence
The Rose Garden (Giardino delle rose) is a garden park in the Oltrarno district of Florence, in Tuscany. It is located between Viale Giuseppe Poggi, Via di San Salvatore al Monte and Via dei Bastioni and offers a commanding view of the city.
The Rose Garden was created by the Florentine architect Giuseppe Poggi in 1865, following a commission by the municipality of Florence to develop the left bank of the Arno River, when the capital of Italy was moved from Turin to Florence that year. His contributions include both the Piazzale Michelangelo and the garden. It has an area of about 1 ha, and is terraced. Once part of the property of the Oratorian Fathers, the Podere San Francesco (San Francesco farm), the area was transformed into a garden by Attilio Pucci, who started a collection of roses. In 1895 the garden was opened for the first time to the public during the Arts and Flowers Festival, that was held each May.
Since September 2011 the garden has hosted twelve sculptures ny the Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon, donated by his widow to the municipality of Florence.
The garden is situated on the southern slopes of the Monte alle Croci overlooking the river Arno and the central historic district of Florence on its north bank. It is bounded to the south west by the pedestrian Scalea del Monte alle Croci from which it is accessed. A second pedestrian access is from the Viale Giuseppe Poggi in the eastern end of the upper garden. Vehicular access is also from this road but further down the hill. It forms part of a cluster of major attractions to the south east of the city on the slopes of Monte alle Croci which also include the Giardino dell'Iris, Piazzale Michelangelo and the churches of San Salvatore al Monte and San Miniato al Monte. The Piazzale Michelangelo can be accessed from the top garden exit by crossing the Viale Giuseppe Poggi and walking up the ramp on the opposite side.
Address: Viale Giuseppe Poggi, 2, Florence
Opening hours: open from 1st May to 31st July: 8.30 am - 7:30 pm
PARCO DI POGGIO VALICAIA - Florence
The Poggio Valicaia Park is located in the neighborhood of Florence, in the close town of Scandicci. In 1979 Cesare Marchi donated the area of Poggio Valicaia to the municipality of Scandicci and the actual park was created in 1988. The current administration aims to create a green area for the excursions inside the city. The park is located at top of the homonym hill, which is the tallest one of the florentine area.
The park extends for about 68 hectares and its particular topographic position, including a crest running north-south 370 meters above sea level, determines its position as a forest zone with diverse species of trees and shrubs. The slope to the south opens onto Val di Pesa, containing more thermophile species such as oaks and typical Mediterranean scrub. The slope to the north opens onto Florence and exhibits plants such as the Turkey Oak, domestic pine, and chestnuts.
Given its positioning next to large urban centers, Poggio Valicaia is easily accessible and plays host to nearly 25,000 people visit every year. Most activities in the park are concentrated in its heart near the olive grove and the lake. Here there are several picnic tables and barbecues for the use of park visitors. There are also public restrooms and drinking fountains here as well as a "life course" of 390m consisting of various calisthenic exercises indicated by signs.
Address: Via della Poggiona, 6/A Scandicci
Contacts: 055 - 768885
Opening hours: January, February, November and December: Saturday and Sunday 9.00 - 16.30/March and October Tue-Sun 9.00 - 18.00/ April-September Tue-Sun 9.00 - 20.00
SANTA MARIA NOVELLA CASTLE - Florence
The Santa Maria Novella castle can be found halfway between Certaldo and the characteristic medieval village of Lucardo, exactly in Fiano, not really far from the city of Florence.
Perched on a hill it overlooks the stunning countryside of the Valdelsa and of the Val di Pesa. The castle is mentioned in a document dating back from 1020 and has been destroyed twice, in 1260 and 1313. The castle lost its military function during the Renaissance period and become a country residence for important Florentine families.
Today it offers elegant tourist accommodation and is the perfect backdrop for weddings and events.
Address: Via Santa Maria Novella 121, 50052 Fiano, Florence
Contacts: 0571 660224
Website: castellodisantamarianovella.com
CENTRO D'ARTE LA LOGGIA, Montefiridolfi - San Casciano
Fattoria La Loggia is located at San Casciano in Val di Pesa in the Montefiridolfi hamlet of Florence province.
Founded several years ago by Giulio Baruffaldi, the La Loggia Art Centre has the aim to promote the contemporary arts and wants above all to be a place where art comes to existence and is created: therefore a thought workshop and a creativity laboratory. The La Loggia Art Centre's activities have as their object all the expressions of the contemporary visual arts: painting, sculpture, videoart and photography.
In particular the Art Centre organises stays for artists from all over the world, creation symposiums, seminars and stages, thematic conferences, artists' exhibitions and performances.
Address: Via Collina 24, San Casciano in Val di Pesa
Contacts: 055 8244288 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.fattorialaloggia.com
PARCO MUSEO QUINTO MARTINI - SEANO, Carmignano
The Park-Museum is located in a big green area near Seano, in the hills of Montalbano. It was established in 1988 by the project of the architect Ettore Chelazzi, the park gathers 36 bronze statues, all created by the sculptor Quinto Martini and placed among large flowerbeds grandi aiuole and gravel lanes.
Address: Via Pistoiese - Carmignano (Prato)
Contacts: 055 8750250 / 055 8750231
Opening hours: The park is always open.
MUSEO DI ARTE CONTEMPORANEA DI LUICCIANA - Cantagallo (PO)
The Open Air Museum of Luicciana is the historic core of the Contemporary Artistic Complex of Cantagallo, that includes also the Circuit of Public Art and the Circuit of Environmental Art and which is opened to the most advanced artistic experimentation at National and International level. The museum opened in 1983 and was set up by the Pro Loco of Luicciana, the Ce.Pa.C. (Centre of artistic-cultural promotion of Prato) and the Commune of Cantagallo, as a natural evolution of a periodical collective exhibition at the beginning of the ‘80s, that presented the works of artists of various kind.
Nowadays, the Open Air Museum of Luicciana hosts many of the leading artists of the avant-garde Florentine ‘60s and ‘70s, offering in general the balance between international renowned masters and young artist.
Address: Via Giuseppe Verdi, 24 - Cantagallo
Contacts: 0574 956809 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Opening hours: the outdoor section is always open. The opening hours for the indoor section: from Monday to Saturday 8.30 a.m.-2.30 p.m.
VILLA CELLE - Santomato (PT)
The Villa Celle and the chapel next to it were built, in their present form, in the late seventeenth century by Cardinal Carlo Agostino Fabroni from Pistoia. In the mid 1800s local architect Giovanni Gambini was commissioned to enlarge the park, designing an English-style garden and representing an extraordinary example of the Romantic ideal of nature.
From 1970, Villa Celle hosts the collection of Giuliano Gori, inspired by some of the pre-existing nineteenth century follies to carry on the property's tradition of hosting art works made specifically for its spaces. The result is a collection of artworks that are inseparable from the property; they do not "occupy" space as much as become an integral part of the site and the wider landscape.
Address: via Montalese 7 - Santomato (Pistoia)
Contacts: 0573-479907 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Opening hours: guided tour starting at 9:30 a.m. or at 2:30 p.m (in July/August only mornings).
Website:www.goricoll.it
IL GIARDINO DEI TAROCCHI - Capalbio (GR)
The Tarot Garden was created by the French sculptor and painter Niki de Saint Phalle, deeply affected by the work of Antonio Gaudi and especially Park Güell in Barcelona.
This esoteric sculpture garden is based on the Tarot cards. The project started in the late seventies and ended when Niki de Saint Phalle passed away in 2002.
Address: Pescia Fiorentina - Capalbio (Grosseto)
Contacts: 0564/895122 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Opening hours: from April 1 to October 15, daily open from 14:30 to 19:30
Website:www.ilgiardinodeitarocchi.it
IL GIARDINO DI DANIEL SPOERRI - Seggiano (GR)
This sculpture garden was established at the beginning of the nineties by the Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri in the South of Tuscany, 80 km south from Siena. The name "Il Giardino" is due to its geographical position: on old maps the place was called “Il Paradiso”, thus it was a “Garden of Eden” in Spoerri's mind.
It has been opened for the public in 1997; nowadays the garden hosts 103 installations by 50 artists in an area of about 16 hectares.
Address: Il Giardino di Daniel Spoerri - Seggiano (Grosseto)
Contacts: +39 0564 950 026 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Opening hours: Eastern - 1st July Tue - Sun: 11a.m. to 8p.m / 15th September - 31st October Tue - Sun: 11a.m. to 7p.m. Closed on Mondays except 1st July - 15th September
Website:www.danielspoerri.org
IL GIARDINO DEI SUONI DI PAUL FUCHS - Boccheggiano (GR)
This particular park - museum is small and magic: it covers about two hectares and it is located in the private garden of the German artist Paul Fuchs. The Garden of sounds is composed by many Fuchs' sculptures made of different materials. All along the park nature, sound and art combine with each others. The artist himself leads visitors along an acoustic path, up to his house, where the tour ends in a unique performance.
The Garden of Sounds lies in Boccheggiano, a small village of the municipality of Montieri, in the area of the metalliferous hills.
Address: Podere Pianuglioli – Boccheggiano (Grosseto)
Contacts: 0566 / 998221
Opening hours: tours only by telephone appointment
Website:www.paulfuchs.com
GIARDINO VIAGGIO DI RITORNO - Castiglione della Pescaia (GR)
The "Return Trip" Contemporary Garden is a creation of the architect Rodolfo Lacquaniti, aimed at giving new value to those object excluded by the production cycle.
In fact, the park is covered by installations made with waste materials and recovery.
Address: Podere il Leccio - loc. Buriano, Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto)
Contacts: +39 393 9717637 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Opening hours: tours only by telephone appointment at 335.5247472
Website:www.rodolfolacquaniti.com
OPEN-AIR MUSEUM ITALO BOLANO - San Marino, Portoferraio
The Open Air Museum was realized by Elban artist Italo Bolano in 1965 with the denomination of International Art Center. His ideal was to create a space where artists could meet, relax and exchange each others' points of view. In the park there are 24 monuments blending perfectly with the typical Mediterranean plants of the valley of San Martino where the Open. Air Museum is located.
In the same area is also a gallery with a permanent exhibition by Italo Bolano.
Address: Località San Martino - Portoferraio (LI)
Contacts: 0565 914570 - 347 6434610
Opening hours: from June to September, Monday-Saturday 10.00-12.30 / 16.00-19.30
Website:www.italobolano.com
PARCO DELLA PADULA - Via Provinciale Gragnana (Carrara)
Villa della Padula was built in 1879 for Bernardo Fabbricotti on the project of the architect Vincenzo Micheli, born in Carrara. The building is located in a wonderful park, realized on the English garden's model. The name of Parco della Padula is due to the typical landscape around called "palude".
Nowadays, the park is used by the Municipality of Carrara as seat of musical events.
Address: Parco “La Padula” (Loc Grazzano)
CASTELLO DI AMA PER ARTE CONTEMPORANEA - Gaiole in Chianti (Siena)
Ama is small hamlet nestled among gentle hills, in the small village of Gaiole in Chianti, in the province of Siena. It lies in the heart of the Chianti Classico region, where vineyards stand as symbols of Tuscany.
The winery, begun in 1972 as a result of the love of four families from Rome.
Castello di Ama per l'Arte Contemporanea" is a project born in 2000 to allow visitors and wine lovers to understand the relation between wine and art. The guided tour introduces the two aspects of Ama estate: the wine production and the "reading" of that unique corner of earth, along with the significant presence of contemporary art, represented by the art installations, located in various locations throughout the estate.
Address: Hamlet of Ama, near the village of Lecchi in Chianti
Contacts: +39 0577 746031 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Opening hours: tours and tastings by appointment
Website:www.castellodiama.com
VILLA MEDICEA LA MAGIA - Quarrata (PT)
Villa la Magia is a superb residence, representing one of the symbols of the Renaissance culture. The original mansion was built by the Panciatichi family, a rich family of Pistoia, in 1300. Thanks to the strategical position of the complex, on the top of a hill and near the northern slopes of Montalbano mountain range, it hosted an historical meeting between the Emperor Charles V and Alessandro de’ Medici, duke of Florence in 1536. In 1583 the owners of the Villa became the florentine Medicis, because of the Panciatichi's disgrace. Many different owners have left their personal signs in the structure of the mansion through the centuries. Since 2000, Villa la Magia is property of Quarrata Town Council.
The outwards of Villa La Magia are wide and gorgeous, as every Medici villa. You should visit all the sections: the Renaissance Garden, the English Garden, the Limonaia di Levante, the Chapel, the Limonaia di Ponente and the Monumental Gate.
Address: Via Vecchia Fiorentina 63, Quarrata (Pistoia)
Contacts: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Opening hours: the complex is open on scheduled dates. Check the website to be updated.
Website:www.villalamagia.com
PARCO DI PINOCCHIO - Collodi, Pescia (PT)
The Pinocchio Park is dedicated to the tale of "The Adventures of Pinocchio", composed by florentine writer Carlo Lorenzin, known with the pseudonym of Carlo Collodi (from the name of his mother's native village "Collodi"). And exactly in Collodi, you can visit this fabulous location, established in 1956.
The park is projected completely outdoors, as a large garden. Walking inside it, you could find all the main characters of the tale: Pinocchio of course, then the Fairy with Turquoise Hair, the Cat and the Fox and many others.
Address: Via di S. Gennaro, 3 I-51012 Collodi (PT)
Contacts: +39 0572 429342
Opening hours: 1st March - 1st November: open daily from 9.00 up to the sunset. 7th January – 29 February, 2nd November – 31st December: open on Saturdays and holidays from 10.00 up to the sunset .
Website:www.pinocchio.it
To get a complete and unique perspective of Tuscany's green treasures, take a look at this wonderful video.