Boboli Gardens, Florence Giardino di Boboli

Behind the Palazzo Pitti (which also has one of the entrances) and between the Forte di Belvedere and Porta Romana are the Boboli Gardens, 45 hectares/111 acres of hillside park, which owe their name to the Boboli or Bobolini family, former owners of some of this land acquired after Cosimo I acquired the Palazzo Pitti in 1549. Work on the park was begun between 1550 and 1560 by Niccolò Pericoli (known as "Tribolo" i.e. the "tormented"), continued by Bernardo Buontalenti (1585-1588) and completed by Alfonso Parigi the Younger (1628-1658).

Full of inviting walks, the gardens are among the finest classical parks of this kind and have various features worth seeing, as well as providing a beautiful view of Florence from the highpoint of the terrace of the "Kaffeehaus".

Boboli Gardens Map

Important Information:

Official site: www.uffizi.firenze.it/en/musei/pitti.php?m=palazzopitti

Address: Piazza Pitti, I-50100 Florence, Italy

Opening hours: Mar 1 to Mar 31: 8:15am-5:30pm
Apr 1 to May 31: 8:15am-6:30pm
Jun 1 to Aug 31: 8:15am-7:30pm
Sep 1 to Oct 31: 8:15am-6:30pm
Nov 1 to Feb 28: 8:15am-4:30pm

Always closed on: New Year's Day (Jan 1), May Day / Labor Day (May 1), Christmas - Christian (Dec 25)

Entrance fee in EUR: Adult €10.00, Concession or reduced rate €3.50

Useful tips: Closed on the 1st and last Monday of every month.

Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.

Transit: Bus: 3, 11, 13, 15, 31, 32, 36, 37, 38, 42.

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Boboli Gardens Highlights

Palazzina della Meridiana

The Palazzina della Meridiana (entrance from the Boboli Gardens) adjoins the Palazzo Pitti and contains the Galleria del Costume and the Collezione Contini Bonacossi. The Neo-Classical palace, which faces the gardens, was begun in 1776 and substantially extended in the early 19th century. The Italian Royal Family stayed here on many occasions until the end of the monarchy. Nowadays it is once more furnished as it was in the 19th century although it has not been possible to achieve a complete reconstruction.

Grotta del Buontalenti

Near the fountain is Buontalenti's grotto (1583-1588) with the figures of Ceres and Apollo in the niches to the right and left of the entrance. Inside the grotto the stalactites, once surrounded by water, turn out to be shepherds with sheep. The corners of the grotto are where Cosimo I installed Michelangelo's "Slaves", now in the Galleria dell'Accademia and replaced here in the early 20th century by plaster casts.

Kaffeehaus

The Kaffeehaus is on the eastern edge of the gardens and its terrace looks out over Florence. It was given its German name by the Italians because in 1776 it was built by Zanobi del Rosso for Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Hapsburgh-Lorraine, later Emperor Leopold II.

It is a few minutes' walk from the nearby exit to the Forte di Belvedere.

Amphitheater

The amphitheater opposite the southeast facade of the Palazzo Pitti was built in 1618 by Giulio and Alfonso Parigi, and reconstructed in 1700. It was used by the Grand Duke to stage magnificent festivities. The obelisk is from Egypt and the granite basin from Rome.

Giardino del Cavaliere

Just a few paces southwest we come to the entrance to the Giardino del Cavaliere, and the Museo delle Porcellane. The "Cavalier's Garden", with its monkey fountain, is on a terrace above the ramparts. This is where Italy's first potatoes were grown, and silkworms used to be bred.

Museo delle Porcellane

The Porcelain Museum has been housed in the 18th century Palazzina del Cavaliere since 1973. It has displays of Italian, French and German porcelain and a collection from Vienna formerly in the possession of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

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Piazzale del Isolotto

In the center of the oval piazza (1618) is a fountain with Giambologna's statue of Oceanus as its central figure (the original is in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello), and at its feet the Nile, the Ganges and the Euphrates.

Statue of Plenty

A few yards higher up, on the southeast edge of the park, is the "Abbondanza", the enormous statue of Plenty, begun by Giambologna and completed by Pietro Tacca 1636/1637.