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Giardino Corsi is in Florence (Oltrarno district), among via dei Serragli, via de ‘Mori and via Romana, practically opposite the entrance to Boboli Gardens.

It covers only 598 square yards, but it is probably the first romantic garden in Florence. It can be found in the area previously occupied by the monastery of San Vincenzo built around 1441 by Countess Anna Elena (Annalena) Malatesta. During the war against Siena, it was used for the fortifications of Cosimo I de ‘Medici and an underground secret passage was specifically dug – it still connects Boboli, Corsi and Torrigiani gardens.
After the destruction of the fortifications in 1571, the land was abandoned for a long time.

In 1790, the Marquis Tommaso Corsi bought it and tasked Giuseppe Manetti with the new garden design; between 1801 and 1810, the garden was eventually built, dominated by two main elements: a large elliptical boxwood flowerbed and a terrace that expands the space, overlooking the Tuscan countryside. It is rich in neoclassical style furnishings, including the “Temple of Song”, with the statue of Mercury and the terracotta sculptures of the Muses.

Next to the garden, the ancient convent of Annalena is now used as a nursery.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)