ATTENTION: THE GARDEN IS CLOSED AT THE MOMENT (MAY 2022)
The Orti Oricellari Garden takes its name from the noble family of Rucellai. This unknown garden is located few steps away from the train station of Santa Maria Novella.
The prestigious story of the garden
The garden dates back to ‘400 when the sister of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Nannina de’ Medici, and her husband Bernardo Rucellai commissioned the garden to host the illustrious Florentine Plato Academy and philosophers like Niccolò Machiavelli, Jacopo Nardi and Pope Leone X.
The garden was closed from 1523 to 1573, when Bianca Cappello bought it. In 1640 it was bought again by the Medici family. The first garden’s transformation dates back to 17th century when it was designed according to “giardino all’italiana” style with a colossal figure of Polyphemus drinking from a wineskin by Antonio Novelli. Novelli realized also the grotto decorated with sponges and statues depicting the winds’ gods.
It was modified again at the beginning of ‘800 when Marquis Giuseppe Stiozzi Ridolfi commissioned the garden’s renovation to architect Luigi Cambray Digny. In 1861 the garden was divided into two parts and transformed into what we see today.
Practical information
The main sights of the Giardino degli Orti Oricellari nowadays are the giant fountain with Polyphemus, the Grotta delle Ninfe e dei Venti, and Tempio di Flora together with other antique statues.
ATTENTION: THE GARDEN IS CLOSED AT THE MOMENT (MAY 2022)
Foto credit – FlorencePhotos
