Florence - Boboli Gardens

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Description

(Local Name: 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".

Hobbies & Activities category: Garden or botanic display

Attractions within Boboli Gardens

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

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Neptune Fountain

Not far from the Kaffeehaus is the Neptune Fountain. By Stoldo Lorenzi (1565), it has Neptune standing on a rock surrounded by Tritons and Sirens.

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.

Fontana del Bacco

Northeast of the Palazzo Pitti is the Fontana del Bacco (1560), a tortoise fountain with the court dwarf of Cosimo I as Bacchus astride its back.

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

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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

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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

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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.

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,

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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.

Viottolone

This is the impressive alley of cypresses, chestnut oaks and parasol pines that extends downhill to the Piazzale del Isolotto.

Do-It-Yourself Tours

Address

Palazzo Pitti / Boboli Gardens
Piazza Pitti
I-50100 Florence
Italy

Hours

September 1 to February 28

Open	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00
Closed	16:30	16:30	16:30	16:30	16:30	16:30	16:30

October 1 to October 31

Open	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00
Closed	17:30	17:30	17:30	17:30	17:30	17:30	17:30

April 1 to September 30

Open	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00
Closed	18:30	18:30	18:30	18:30	18:30	18:30	18:30

June 1 to August 31

Open	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00
Closed	19:30	19:30	19:30	19:30	19:30	19:30	19:30