BOBOLI GARDEN

Tour Highlights

• Join a guided tour of the royal Boboli Gardens in Florence
• Stroll through acres of gardens, trees, fountains and terraces with a knowledgeable guide
• Learn the history of the 16th-century Italianate gardens behind the Pitti Palace

Description

Boboli is one of the most elegant and ancient Italian-style gardens. It has a breath-taking, landscaped garden, which is an open-air museum, filled with ancient statues, fountains, and an incredible artificial grotto designed by Niccolò Tribolo and after his death the works were completed by his collaborators: Giorgio Vasari, Bartolomeo Ammannati, Bernardo Buontalenti and others.

Itinerary

At the start of your tour, after crossing the Pitti Palace's courtyard your guide will lead you up to the “artichoke” fountain, the large octagonal basin decorated with numerous statues and crowned by a bronze lily. and in front of you is the sight of the "Amphitheatre" adjoined to the hill behind the palace, the first phase of creating this beautiful garden as the guide will explain how it was designed.

As you climb up the hill, you will find "Neptune’s fountain", and at the very top of the hill, the large statue of "Abundance", by Giambologna. The guide will later lead you through a steep sloping avenue to head back down the hill and to a large avenue known as the "Viottolone”, with cypresses and statuettes that then lead all the way down to the "Isolotto" a large pond, with an admirable fountain known as "The Ocean", created by Giambologna.

After the guide spend time explaining these fountains and sculptures, the final stops will be at the "Giardino del Cavaliere", built by Michelangelo, "Kaffeehaus" and the "Buontalenti Grotto" created by Buontalenti from limestone concrete stalactites, shells and terracotta reliefs, with water running down the walls providing vivacity and color as guide will reveal all the secrets behind these designs.

The tour takes about an hour, the perfect amount to see the highlights inside the garden. You can also return to anything you might want to see again after the tour ends.

Meeting Point

Piazza de'Pitti (Central Gate)