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Villa Gamberaia
For centuries the landscape of Tuscany,
Italy, has exerted a powerful hold on the imaginations of
Italian city dwellers and foreign visitors with its human scale, and the
merging of vineyards and olive groves into gardens and then into the
villas themselves. With the revival of Classical culture from the fourteenth century,
this landscape has been incorporated architecturally into the villas and gardens that grew in the environs of the cities of Florence and
Siena, and later the villas created from castles, fortified abbeys and
towers throughout the province.
More than anywhere else, the topography here allowed use of hillsides and distant vistas. The
early Renaissance villas and gardens
were designed as retreats from public life in the busy city. They were
the ideal place for humanist debate.
Gardens of the late Renaissance and Baroque periods became more
elaborate symbols of power, adorned with rare plants, sculpture and
water works. Uniting natural and artificial beauty, they were designed
to recreate Paradise on Earth, an achievable Utopia, an accessible Arcadia.
After a period of landscape design in the English style in the
nineteenth century, the Tuscan formal garden returned in its most
glorious form in the early twentieth century, this time designed mostly
for wealthy foreigners, often by garden designers who were themselves
foreigners, foremost among them being
Cecil Pinsent, an English architect resident in
Florence.
Here we feature some of the lesser known gardens in the
Chianti Classico wine region
between Florence
and Sienna
and throughout Tuscany.
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Villa Gamberaia is
one of the classic Florentine villas, with a "hanging"
garden laid out to draw the eye to the splendid views out over
the farms towards Florence. Astonishingly, it is possible to
rent vacation apartments in converted
farm buildings on the grounds, as well as to rent the entire
villa. There is no better way to
experience and understand what a villa meant in Renaissance
times.
The villa is located on the
outskirts of Florence and is worth a visit for the gardens alone
- the gardens are open to the public by appointment. Villa
Gamberaia can be reached from Florence in 20 minutes by car and
also by ATAF bus number 10 (30 mins. from Piazza San Marco to
the village of Settignano plus a 15 minute walk to the villa). |
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Click
here for more about Villa Gamberaia. |
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Villa
Poggio Torselli is
already mentioned in the land registry of 1427 under its current
name and was then owned by the Machiavelli family. In later
centuries, the property passed to the Angiolini, the Corsini,
the Macalli and the Capponi. In the 18 C, it belonged to the
Orlandini del Beccuto and finally to the Antinori.
The famous garden of Villa Poggio Torselli probably dates from
the late 17 C, and consists of an italianate garden divided into
two terraces to the south and an English park area in to the
north. In the upper terrace on the south side, the original
arrangement with flower beds has been preserved along with a
very ingenious irrigation system, one of the best preserved of
Tuscany. |
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Click
here to learn more about Villa Poggio Torselli. |
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Chianti formal gardens
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In English
Garden of the Villa di Geggiano
near
Sienna
Villa Poggio Torselli
near San Casciano Val di Pesa
Villa Cetinale
near Sienna
Villa Gamberaia
Settignano near Florence
Villa Vignamaggio
near
Greve in Chianti
Villa Medici
at
Fiesole, Italy
Castello
di Uzzano
at
Greve in
Chianti
Vincigliata Castle
near Fiesole
Villa Monaciano
near Castelnuovo Berardenga
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In italiano
Giardino della Villa di Geggiano
vicino Siena
Villa Poggio Torselli
vicino San Casciano Val di Pesa
Villa Cetinale
vicino Siena
Villa Gamberaia
Settignano vicino Firenze
Villa Vignamaggio
vicino Greve in Chianti
Villa Medici
a Fiesole
Castello di Uzzano
a Greve in Chianti
Castello di Vincigliata
vicino Fiesole
Villa Monaciano
vicino
Castelnuovo Berardenga
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Auf Deutsch
Villa di Geggiano - der Garten
nahe Siena
Villa Poggio Torselli
nahe San Casciano Val di Pesa
Villa Cetinale
nahe Siena
Villa Gamberaia
Settignano nahe Florenz
Villa Vignamaggio
nahe
Greve in Chianti
Castello di Uzzano
bei Greve in
Chianti
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Tuscan formal gardens
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Bardini Garden in Florence
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Il Giardino Bardini in Firenze
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Der Garten Bardini von Florenz
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Brolio Castle
near
Gaiole in Chianti
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Castello di Brolio
vicino Gaiole in
Chianti
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Schloss
Brolio
nahe Gaiole in Chianti
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Villa Chigi Saracini
near Castelnuovo Berardenga and Sienna
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Palazzo Piccolomini
in
Pienza
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The prestigious Renaissance "lemon garden" begins with a magnificent gate and ends
at an exedra decorated with pillars at its corners and a large central rounded arch opening, framed by cypresses hedges. The upper part of the exedra is crowned by the family court of arms, surrounded by two vases.
More about Villa Chigi Saracini
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This is a small "hanging garden" which forms an integral part
of the Palazzo and indeed of the entire town of Pienza, a small renaissance jewel in central Tuscany.
More about the
Palazzo Piccolomini in Pienza
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Roman formal gardens
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