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This garden is inside Palazzo Corsini al Prato, in the historic centre of Florence, near the convent of Santa Maria Novella. It is one of the most famous gardens in the city, hosting works by great artists of the XVI century such as Giambologna and the Buontalenti.

The garden was created by Gherardo Silvani, contracted by the Corsini family, as a classic Italian one, with a large avenue with statues of decreasing height to obtain an effect of greater depth.
On the sides of the avenue, space is divided by regular-shaped flower beds edged with boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) with terracotta basins containing citrus plants.

For a long time, the garden was mainly used as a summer residence of the Corsinis; in 1834 it became the permanent abode of Neri Corsini di Laiatico and his wife.
The garden is home to about 180 citrus trees, has three large lemon greenhouses and ca. one hundred turtles of a centuries-old colony.

Several were the illustrious guests of the palace, including Frederick IV of Denmark, the Prince of Wales Charles Edward Stuart, Queens Victoria of England, and Margherita of Savoy.
In recent times, the landscape architect Olivia di Collobiano has worked on the garden, painstakingly selecting the flowers and the aromatic plants to be placed inside the flower beds.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)