The Gardens of Florence - Il Giardino dell'Orticoltura

The Horticultural Garden is one of the most beautiful green areas in Florence. The park is very big and extends to communicate with the Parnaso Gardens above, from which you can admire magnificent views.
The park is located near Piazza della Libertà, beyond the Mugnone stream, in a residential area surrounded by beautiful villas. It can be accessed from both Via Bolognese and Via Vittorio Emanuele II.

The Horticultural Garden was born in the mid-nineteenth century as an experimental garden, when the Società dell’Orticoltura Toscana planted vines, fruit trees and rare plant species on this land.
The garden was completed in 1880, with the construction of the large Tepidarium designed by the architect Giacomo Roster, today the venue for exhibitions and events. This spectacular Art Nouveau greenhouse is certainly the park's main attraction, with its 38.50 meters in length by 17 meters in width and 14 meters in height in the central nave, it is the largest tepidarium in Italy.
A reorganization of the garden began in 1876, in order to host national exhibitions and prestigious shows. To this day, the garden is home to events of this kind, such as the annual Mostra Mercato di Piante e Fiori in spring.

At the center of the park we also find the Loggetta Bondi, a celebratory monument in Renaissance style. It was built in 1911 on the occasion of a large international floriculture exhibition to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Unification of Italy. For this occasion, substantial changes were made to the park: the access avenue was widened and the overpass over the railway and the Loggetta Bondi were built. The latter was the work of the architect Giuseppe Castellucci and the Manifattura di Signa, a historic terracotta ceramics workshop, created in 1895 by Camillo Bondi. The Loggetta, damaged by years of neglect and vandalism, was finally restored in 2004-2005.

The Giardino dell’Orticoltura is one of many magical places in Florence, particularly beautiful during the fall. Here you can spend beautiful days outdoors, away from the chaos of the city, in a quiet area of ​​the city that remains conveniently close to the historic center.