Friday 17 August 2018

Bardini Gardens Florence

Today we went by train from Castiglione del Lago to Florence to see two special gardens.

The Bardini Gardens are across the Arno river and loosely speaking between the Boboli Gardens and the Piazalle Michelangelo with its large statue of David. The gardens have a very interesting background story. The land was listed as a garden as far back as 1259. It was owned by one family until 1880 when it was sold. From 1913 to 1965 it was in the Bardini family but the last of the family bequeathed it to the Swiss nation. Red tape prevented any action until 2000. As a result the garden was severely neglected until a massive restoration was begun at that time. It opened to the public in 2005 but there is still much work to do.

The land is very, very steep and you enter from the street into a ticket office then go up in a lift. An S bend of steep pathway brings you to this point,




and once up the steps your whole vision is directed up the grand  stairway.





Signs direct you to the left where the magnificent views are already impressing. As I have mentioned previously, it is too hot for flowers at present but info boards tell what is in bloom each season. It must be beautiful in spring.






Can you imagine this wisteria tunnel in the spring?

At the top of the grand staircase is the Kaffeehaus and the belvedere that allows the most spectacular views of Florence and the surrounding countryside.







From here you look back down the staircase,  and at that point you realise how amazing this landscaping is. The Arno river can be seen running by the white buildings.





The grounds behind the Kaffeehaus open out into many special areas with sections devoted to azaleas, viburnums, camelias, roses, iris and hydrangeas. Pathways lead through the trees where, as a web site says, you can have a discreet picnic. We did just that, and were joined by a lovely little bird that was camera shy.









The Villa Bardini holds exhibitions and has a book shop.



As we were leaving, going down the opposite side we were given this great view of the stairway, and also the ancient fruit orchard behind.




Then it was back to the station to catch a train out to Firenze Castello where I was keen to see the UNESCO World Heritage listed garden at Villa di Castello. That was the easy part, actually finding the villa was more difficult and required our Italian lessons to be put into play. After a lot of walking in the heat we found the almost unmarked building but the garden was closed ( despite the website saying otherwise.) I was not happy! 



We had a long wait for the train to take us back to Firenze SMN station. We caught an earlier train home but it was a very tedious Regionale that stopped at every station.

To end on a bright note, you can't  walk through Florence without photographing some of the iconic sights.


A small portion of the Duomo, Santa Maria del Fiore.


Ponte Vecchio and the gold shops

Not all the diamonds were in the shop!

 Santa Maria Novella church.

Just looking!

1 comment:

  1. Oooooooo! Lovely photos of the Bardini Gardens! They are spectacular. When we visited, there was an amazing exhibition of Italian fashion icons from the 60's. What a great way to spend an afternoon. I want to go back after seeing these photos! Sorry the other gardens were closed. Grrrr.
    janelle

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