The Gardens of Florence - The Mansola Park, a park for the future

Ten minutes walk from the  bus no. 20 terminus, at the eastern  border of the city you will find the Mensola Park, named after the stream that crosses it, coming down from Fiesole. It is a large open area of ​​20 hectares with pedestrian and bicycle paths, partly being redeveloped with new trees, mostly oaks, pines and holm oaks (1400 have been planted!), and flowers, partly already structured as a park as it was part of villas and large parkways lined with cypresses remain. After Le Cascine, it will become the largest and most beautiful park in Florence, we just have to wait! It has a dual function: park and expansion tank of the Mensola stream. In case of flood, the mass of water will be diverted here to form a large basin. In fact, the last part of the stream was silted up to build houses and streets on it, so, as soon as it rains, it overflows and floods the surrounding neighborhoods. This is a smart solution to solve a problem created by stupidity and building speculation! The basin should also prevent the water from pouring into the Arno, of which the Mensola is a tributary, and then invade Florence, as happened the last time in 1966. A suburban Roman villa was also found during the works, located along the ancient road in the direction of Arezzo (the ancient Etruscan town Arretium). Ceramic amphorae were found for storing wine and oil (dolia), as well as traces of a press for wine and oil. The villa, built in the 1st century BC, was destroyed by a fire at the end of the 3rd century AD. Wine was notoriously produced in the area and the "sopina" grape of Florence was famous, mentioned by Plinius the Elder in the 14th book of the Naturalis Historia. "Sopina" seems to have been a popular form of "supina", which means "supine, upside down, turned down", a word that seems to indicate the unsupported vine, whose branches stretch out on the ground. Florence, via del Guarlone.