Gardens, with their shady trees, fragrant flowers, and peaceful lanes, have always served as a counterpoint to the narrow, crowded streets of Florence's city center. During the Renaissance, a new form of garden design came to the fore, heavily influenced by classical models from Roman villas. Florence, and its surrounding area, is a garden enthusiast's paradise, boasting numerous Renaissance style gardens, along with examples of sixteenth century and English style designs. This three hour Florence secret garden tour, led by a trained horticulturalist and garden designer, takes a look at Florence's two most stunning gardens—the Boboli Gardens, known to many, and Giardino Torrigiani, known to few.

We will begin our walk in the Boboli Gardens, which cover the hillside behind the Pitti Palace (which we also explore on our Pitti Palace Tour)—a suitably grandiose complement to the expanding ambition of its Medici owners during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The gardens developed from agricultural origins to the setting for dynastic marriage celebrations, with a formal network of grand avenues, vistas framed by classical and baroque statuary, dark bosquets, and hidden lawns. Recent restorations have emphasized the masterpieces of architecture within Boboli, including the Mannerist Grotta Grande, built to house Michelangelo's famous Atlas figures, and the delightful Rococo structures of the Limonaia and the Kaffeehouse. Within the vast gardens are several “secret gardens,” housing precious botanical collections, proving not only the enlightened scientific patronage of the Medici and Lorraine rulers, but the passage of skills through generations of gardeners.

Hidden behind a set of high walls in the same neighborhood of the Oltrarno (where our Florence Artisan Workshop Tour takes place) is the Torrigiani Garden, the largest private garden within city walls in Italy, which we will visit by special request. Originally planted by the founder of the Italian Botanical Society—the world's oldest—the garden still has an uncommonly wide variety of trees, especially exotic species, in keeping with its nineteenth-century English landscape style. Giardino Torrigiani has an intriguing air of mystery, as it is laid out as an initiation path with secret masonic symbolism, and includes gothic follies and the recurring theme of research and inquiry. There is no secret, however, to the dedication to the arts and sciences, which are still the owners' guiding principles, as the Torrigiani Garden contains a successful commercial nursery and regularly hosts lectures on the arts and gardening. Refreshments will be offered on the lawn, in the shade of a pomegranate tree.

What is included in the cost?
The price of the tour, expert guide, Boboli Gardens entrance tickets, reservations for private access to the Torrigiani gardens, and an aperitif with prosecco and snacks at the Torrigiani house with the Marquis Torrigiani.

Where does the tour end?
The tour ends at the Torrigiani Gardens.

Is this tour accessible?
This tour does involve a certain amount of walking. The gardens have wheelchair-accessible entrances and paths, however there are some areas with steep paths that may be difficult for those with mobility concerns.