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Boboli Gardens 
(Boboli: pronounced: BOH boh lee)

 Florence, Italy

Gardens' location:
Behind the Pitti Palace

Medici purchased Pitti Palace:

1550, by Cosimo I and Eleonora of Toledo
Garden begun 1549, for Eleonora of Toledo
Origin of the name Boboli:
Corruption of "Bogoli", a family from whom land had been bought to construct the garden
Designer:
Niccolò Tribolo,
commissioned by Eleonora de Toledo, wife of Cosimo I, to create a setting that would be appropriate for vast pageants and Medici court entertainments.
After Tribolo's untimely death in 1550, Bartolomeo Ammannati

Distinction:

One of the most important examples of an Italian garden
Style: Renaissance
Gardens opened to the public:
1766
History of Boboli Gardens:
Reprints, below illustrations on this page

February 2020 photos




A lunette painted in 1599 by Giusto Utens, depicts the palazzo before its extensions, with the amphitheatre and the Boboli Gardens behind.  
Source: Wikipedia (online March 2020)






View of Pitti Palace from Boboli Gardens



View of
Pitti Palace frrom Boboli Gardens   ...  The terrace, including the Artichoke Fountain, is considered part of the Gardens



View of Pitti Palace frrom Boboli Gardens   ...    The Artichoke Fountain is situated on a terrace of the main floor of the Palace and crowns the courtyard side opposite the facade. Considered part of the Boboli Gardens.  



View of Pitti Palace frrom Boboli Gardens
Fontana del Carciofo / Artichoke Fountain
By Giovan Francesco Susini
1639 -1642
"... 'artichoke' fountain whose large octagonal basin is decorated with numerous statues and crowned by a bronze lily [disappeared]. Because of its shape, the fountain was nicknamed artichoke by the Florentines, as they can sometimes be quite harsh in their judgements." - Visit Florence (online  March 2020)



View frrom Boboli Gardens







View of Boboli Gardens from Pitti Palace



View of Boboli Gardens from Pitti Palace   ...   Note Amphitheater seating



Amphitheatr east elevation   ...   Detail below:


Amphitheatr east elevation - Detail



 Horseshoe-shaped Amphitheatr with an Egyptian obelisk   ...   In 1631 Giulio Parigi transformed the Amphitheater from garden architecture into masonry architecture with the installation, in the first half of the 18th century, of the Egyptian obelisk originally from Luxor but more recently from the Medici’s Roman collections and the basin from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome



View from just above the
Amphitheatr   ...   Note obelisk, from this view,  is in front of the Roman basin





 Basin of Neptune and Fountain of Neptune at right    ...   Other views below:


 Basin of Neptune, created in 1777, which houses the Fountain of Neptune (Fontana di Nettuno), called by the Florentines “Fountain of the Fork” (Fontana della Forchetta)  


Fountain of Neptune


Fountain of Neptune


Fountain of Neptune  with visitor



Basin of Neptune, created in 1777, houses the Fountain of Neptune (Fontana di Nettuno)





Detail below:







The Statue of Abundance dominates the whole complex from above   ...   Detail below:


Statue of Abundance - Detail





Reprint
Boboli Gardens
Encyclopaedia Britannica
(online March 2020)



Boboli Gardens, Italian Giardino di Boboli, approximately 111 acres (45 hectares) of lavishly landscaped gardens behind the Pitti Palace, extending to modern Fort Belvedere, in Florence. Designed in a carefully structured and geometric Italian Renaissance style, the gardens were begun in 1550 by Niccolò di Raffaello de’ Pericoli detto Tribolo, who had been commissioned by Eleonora de Toledo, wife of Cosimo I, to create a setting that would be appropriate for vast pageants and Medici court entertainments.

Lacking a natural water supply, the gardens relied on an elaborate system of water distribution, a special conduit being built to tap the river; this was further enlarged by Ferdinando I, Cosimo’s son, and the garden waters are known as the Acqua Ferdinanda. The Boboli, preserved by the Italian monarchy and today a public park, displays statuary from various historical periods, and includes works by important Mannerist and Baroque sculptors. Among well-known features are the Artichoke Fountain, the Museum of Porcelain, a Rococo Kaffeehaus, and a much-copied, horseshoe-shaped amphitheatre with an Egyptian obelisk.

Partial reprint

History|Boboli Gardens
Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi
(online March 2020)

Begun in 1549 and designed by Niccolò Pericoli, known as Tribolo, for Duchess Eleonora of Toledo, the Boboli Gardens are one of the most important examples of an Italian garden.

On a hillside behind the [Pitti] Palace, the Gardens are arranged geometrically with a symmetrical, regular positioning of trees and flowerbeds. It was decided to begin the planting of hedges and trees, rare and wild plants and the construction of the fountains immediately. These innovative ideas would make Boboli one of the most significant gardens, worthy of a grand ducal residence.

Unfortunately, Tribolo died soon after and the work was taken over first by Bartolomeo Ammannati and then by Bernardo Buontalenti.

In 1631 Giulio Parigi transformed the Amphitheater from garden architecture into masonry architecture with the installation, in the first half of the 18th century, of the Egyptian obelisk originally from Luxor but more recently from the Medici’s Roman collections and the basin from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome.

The Statue of Abundance, begun by Giambologna and completed by PietroTacca, dominates the whole complex from above.




Partial reprint
Boboli Gardens
Florence Art Museums
(online March 2020)

The original nucleus of the Boboli Gardens dates back to 1418 when Luca Pitti bought some land on the south of the river Arno (Oltrarno) from the Borgolo family, to build a magnificent palace.

Pitti Palace will be built in that place only forty years later.

The landscaping of the garden was commissioned by the Medici family, who had become owners of the building, to Niccolò Tribolo, former architect of the gardens of the Medici villas of Castello and Petraia.

However, it was Bartolomeo Ammannati who completed the works after the untimely death of Tribolo.

The pietraforte used to build Palazzo Pitti was taken right from the Boboli Gardens: Excavations created a hollow in the ground that still exists today and is clearly visible.

Around the main garden axis develop avenues, hedges, terraces adorned with statues and fountains that make Boboli a real open-air museum, but there are also several important buildings that occupy part of the gardens.

One of the first buildings is the Amphitheater (Anfiteatro), which opened in 1637.

Still overlooks the amphitheater a valuable Egyptian obelisk placed in the gardens by the Grand Duke Peter Leopold, along with a huge vat of gray granite from Roman times.

The waters that irrigate the garden are contained in the Basin of Neptune, created in 1777, which houses the Fountain of Neptune (Fontana di Nettuno), called by the Florentines “Fountain of the Fork” (Fontana della Forchetta).





Reprint
Pietraforte
Wikipedia
(online March 2020)

The pietraforte (or forte stone ) is a fine-grained sandstone with carbonate cement . It is the typical Florentine building stone, in use, at least since the 11th century, in civil and religious buildings and also for paving.

In Florence the quarries of pietraforte were located in the Boboli Gardens , therefore very close to the city, and were used well before the construction of Palazzo Pitti . The Palace itself was said to be already underground, because the quarries of material were under its foundations , and that it was enough to "turn it" up high. The Boboli amphitheater is located right in the cavity created to collect the material for the building. A quarry was reopened in Boboli when material was needed to restore and rebuild the ancient towers of Oltrarno [Arno River] after the destruction in 1944 .






Photos and their arrangement © 2020 Chuck LaChiusa
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