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Walking (or jogging) in enchanted gardens Walk off the weight!
[Susan Glasspool]
The spring brings everyone outside into the open air, some just for gentle strolls, others for brisk walks or energetic runs. Apart from the traditional route along the Arno, preferred by many for early morning jogging, do try exploring some of the gardens, particularly pleasant at this time of year.One of the nearest and most extensive gardens is the Park of the Cascine, originally a farm belonging to the Medici family and later the Lorraine princes. It became a public park after the Italian Risorgimento and today boasts everything from a racetrack to an ancient icehouse. Its pleasant tree-ined boulvards border onto areas of woodland with ponds, fountains, winding paths, shady groves and wide lawns. There are therefore plenty of routes to choose from and the really energetic can follow link-up paths that will take them as far as Signa.
Piazzale Michelangelo is surrounded by terraced gardens. Below they take you down to the San Niccolò area, above to the Church of San Miniato (not to be missed) and on to Arcetri where Galileo once lived. The boulevards on either side run from Piazza Ferrucci to Porta Romana, with gardens and shady paths to explore along their entire length. There are some really delightful gardens between Piazza Galileo and Porta Romana that you hardly realise are for public use unless you go on foot.
If you take Via San Leonardo you can not only return to the centre down the steep and characteristic Coste, you can also stop off en route at Fort Belvedere, lying at the back of the Boboli Gardens and considered the most beautiful balcony overlooking Florence. It is lesser known but certainly more impressively situated than the far more popular Piazzale Michelangelo (profit by visiting the Follon exhibition). The fortress itself was built for Duke Ferdinando I by Bernardo Buontalenti, though the small villa inside dates from earlier and is attributed to Bartolomeo Ammannati. It was used as a strong-room for the Medici treasury.
Back down in Florence, a visit to the Boboli Gardens, directly below Fort Belvedere, is definitely a must. Due to its great historical value and upkeep, a nominal charge is made for entrance.
Once inside you will find a classical Italian Renaissance garden, an enchanted garden, that was designed by Tribolo and was used as a basis for all the royal gardens in Europe, including Versailles. It contains various Mannerist elements by Buontalenti, like the Grotta Grande or Large Grotto, as well as fountains and statues by Ammannati, Giambologna and Tacca. It was completed by Giulio and Alfonso Parigi.
Look out for the stone Amphitheatre, where many theatrical performances were put on for the Court, the cypress alley known as the Viottolone, and the square and pool of Isolotto. The Lorraine family added the 18th century Coffee house (recently restored), the Lawn of the Columns and the Lemon House, again recently restored, as well as introducing other changes to follow the fashions of the time. Note the many unusual plants brought here by the Medicis and the Lorraines, even the potted lemon trees come from the first plants to be introduced here.
So get out your most comfortable shoes and start walking!
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