Montebello Splendid Hotel Florence - Boboli Gardens
Boboli Gardens gets its name from the Borgoli or Borgolini family who owned houses and land in this area called Oltrana adjacent to Santa Felicita. But it was from the family De'Rossi, that, Luca di Bonaccorso Pitti acquired the area and the farm that stood on it in 1418.
After the Medici family took possession of Pitti Palace in 1550 and began work on enlarging it, the park behind the palace also originated and grew, staged along the slope of the hills of Boboli (320,000 square meters) and accessible also from the Piazza.
The fame of the Boboli Gardens therefore originated with the Medici's, who called Niccolò Pericoli, nicknamed the "Tribolo", to design the garden. An artist who had already proved his talents by designing the medicean villas of Castello and Petraia. Between 1150 and 1558, the year the artist died, he created the Boboli, his work of art of "green architecture".
The Boboli Gardens became a model for all the royal gardens of Europe including Versailles, and the park was enriched by style creations of Buontalenti (for example the Grotta Grande), the fountains and statues of Amannati, Gianbologna, and Tacca and in the end completed by Giulio and Alfonso Parigi (1631-1656). The two architects, father and son, constructed the Amphitheater in stone, which became a privileged place for celebrity performances, the avenue named "Viottolone" and the square with the bath of Isolotto. The last additions, like the Kafeehouse (1774-1776), the Field of Pillars (1776), and the Limonaia (1785), are due to Lorena, who in the 1800's transformed some areas in accordance to the new romantic taste of the "English Garden".
In 1776, by will of Pietro Leopoldo, the garden was opened to the public. On the summit of the hill, near Fort Belvedere, you will find the Garden of the Cavalier, a secluded and secret place where the Palazzina is situated today in the Museum of Porcelain China.
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