Today I am giving you the history of this, the largest green space within the city of Florence. Tomorrow I will show you my recent pictures. I’m spending a lot of time in this park during Covid lockdowns.

The Parco delle Cascine (Cascine Park) is a monumental and historical park in the city of Florence. The park covers an area of 160 hectares (395 acres). It has the shape of a long and narrow stripe, on the north bank of the Arno river. It extends from the centre of Florence until the point where the Mugnone Torrente flows into the Arno.

The building of the Park began in 1563, under the rule of Cosimo I de’ Medici, as a farming and hunting estate of the Medici family, ruling the city of Florence since 1434. The very name of the Park derives from the ancient Italian word “cascio,” meaning bovine livestock, mainly intended for the production of butter and cheese. Rare and exotic plants were chosen for the park, for scientific as well as aesthetic reasons.

In the 18th century, when the Grand Duchy transferred to the Habsburg-Lorraines, the park gradually acquired a recreative function in the urban system, from which the current public park descends. However, until the beginning of the 19th century, the park remained usually closed to the public, with the exception of some particular events.

The Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo commissioned from the architect Giuseppe Manetti, the design construction of a model farming estate, centered around the Palazzina Reale delle Cascine (small casino-palace now housing the Agronomy faculty of the University of Florence) in 1786. Other structures added were the Abbeveratoio del Quercione fountain, the pyramid-shaped ice-house, the amphitheatre and two neoclassical Pavoniere (originally ornamental peacock cages). Along a symbolic path a series of furnishings and architectural structures was positioned, among which is the royal Palazzina, the Quercione drinking trough, the Found of Boccacce, the pyramid which was used as an ice-house (nowadays it is used to store the gardeners’ tools) and two ‘pavoniere’, originally called ‘faganiere’, a type of Neoclassical temple made up of two bird cages, for peacocks.

Among the fountains was the Narcisus Fountain, from which the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley is said to have drawn inspiration writing the Ode to the West Wind, in 1820. Giuseppe Manetti was also responsible for organizing celebrations and receptions in the park, such as the ceremony to celebrate the arrival of Ferdinand III of Tuscany, in July 1791.

In 1809-1811, the new Grand Duchess, Elisa Bonaparte, converted the farm into a public park. The park was acquired by the Municipality of Florence in 1869; architect Felice Francolini was hired to renovate the park. Sport clubs regularly competed in the Quercione meadow, including the Florence Football Club, Itala Foot Ball Club, Juventus Foot-Ball Club, Firenze FBC, Club Sportivo Firenze and PGF Libertas. However, in 1917 the municipality forbade any sport club to play football in the park.

The last relevant monument built in the Cascine Park was the Monumento all’Indiano, a monument by the English sculptor Fuller, in honor of the young Indian (Maratha) prince, His Highness Rajaram II, Maharaja of Kolhapur, who suddenly died while visiting Florence in 1865. In the latter 19th century, architect Giuseppe Poggi had the idea of the large square of access to the park now known as Piazzale Vittorio Veneto.

The amphitheatre was named in March 2015 after a well-known son of Florence, Ernesto de Pascale, music journalist and blues-rock musician who died 2011.

The beautiful green grounds of the Cascine include a number of meadows, sometimes edged by wooded areas, with the names of Tinaia, del Quercione, delle Cornacchie. Other smaller meadows are situated within gardens or squares. Wooded areas cover more than 35 hectares and there are about 19,000 trees in the park.

Centuries-old English oaks, elms, maples and ashes are slowly being replaced by spontaneous vegetation, represented by acacias, trees of heaven, elders, ivy, pines and nettle trees. A botanic arboretum is situated in the garden of the Scuola di Guerra Aerea (School of Air War).

The strength and luxuriance of plants show the rich soil and the presence of a ample good water reserve, right next to the Arno river bed. Long hedges, selected to resist to dryness and to shady positions, are present everywhere in the park (their overall length is about 30 km).

The central part of the park is characterised by a monumental complex, situated in Piazzale delle Cascine, dominated by the Palazzina Reale, and its bordering areas, including Piazzale Kennedy with its circular fountain.

In the Piazza Vittorio Veneto, stands the Vittorio Emanuele II bronze equestrian statue which was formerly situated in the center of Florence in the Piazza della Repubblica. The statue was moved in this position in 1932. The square, along with the bordering Giardino della Catena, is decorated with impressive trees (pines, plane trees, Ginkgo Biloba, oaks, horse cheastnuts and cedars). This variety of species gives the park a lot of autumn color, typical of Italian style gardens.

The park hosts a number of civil and sport infrastructures, such as tennis and football fields, a velodrome, shooting and archery fields, two hippodromes, a public swimming pool, the School of Air War, a visiting centre, police offices, the Faculty of Agronomy and a public school.

Since 2010 the Line T1 of the tramway of Florence has a stop in the park, in Viale degli Olmi, which improves accessibility in the area for visitors arriving from the city center or from Scandicci.

This goes out to all my friends in Colorado, who were buried under many feet of spring snow this week! Hang in there!

Almost every day I walk by this unassuming doorway on Via della Ruote, but I have never before stopped to read the sign beside it. I was shocked to learn that it marks the location of a large church and was the site where a major Florentine event, the Ciompi Conspiracy or Revolt, was fomented. It was the church of Santa Maria dei Battalani.

The Revolt of the Ciompi was a rebellion among unrepresented laborers which occurred in Florence, Italy from 1378 to 1382. Those who revolted consisted of artisans, laborers, and craftsmen who did not belong to any of the essential guilds that managed political life, and were therefore unable to participate in the Florentine government. These laborers grew increasingly resentful over the established patrician oligarchy. In addition, they were expected to pay heavy taxes which they could not afford, forcing some to abandon their homes. The resulting insurrection over such tensions led to the creation of a government composed of wool workers and other disenfranchised workers which lasted for three and a half years.

In June 1378 the city’s fourteen minor guilds demanded greater representation in civic office from elites – the Signoria. These guildsmen still wanted to keep the Sotto posti, who were low wage textile workers with no guild representation, from forming their own guilds and being able to gain increased political power. To prevent this, the Signoria quadrupled the fee for admittance to the system. This action sparked indignation and turned the Sotto posti into opponents of the Signoria aligning them with the lower class, the so-called Ciompi. In the summer of 1378, the Ciompi took up arms for the first time, and they violently took over the city’s government and forced the Signoria to create three new guilds and grant them political office.

Above, Il tumulto dei ciompi by Giuseppe Lorenzo Gatteri (1829-1844)

Although the Ciompi Rebellion was brief, it left an impact on future generations. The three and a half year revolt not only affected Florentine society throughout the 15th century, but was a flashpoint in Florentine history, which continued to intrigue historians.

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As the sign by the doorway says, this church was the headquarters of the Ciompi, who were the wool carders in Florence’s Medieval urban life. And, also as the sign says, they formed one of Florence’s minor guilds-for a short time-3 years.

“It was in this church that the Battalani or Ciompi gathered on 20 July 1378, under the leadership of Michele di Lando, who incited the famous revolt known as the “Tumult of the Ciompi.” At one time filled with works of art, the church was later closed to the public and turned into a workshop.”

Also, as the sign explains, you can still see emblems of the wool carders on the doorway. Just below the broken pediment above the door, are 2 stone blocks, each carved with an image. One shows the carding comb and the other, the rack; these were the insignia of the guild.

Keep your eyes open in Florence and you will always be repaid with learning something new about something really old. Crazy as it seems, I have Covid restrictions to thank for allowing me the time and space to notice these interesting things in Florence.

Do you know the Judy Garland classic “A foggy day in London Town?” Well, here’s my riff.

Florence weather has been astounding recently. Warm and sunny. Walking through the center makes me feel like taking pictures of major monuments all over again! These monuments are in Piazza Signora.

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Well, at least we aren’t in the Red Zone. A year ago we were and it was brutal. We couldn’t leave home without a good reason like a doctor’s visit or grocery shopping.

Now at least, with a mask, we can be out and about in the city. Not everything is open, such as the churches and museums I like to frequent.

But, Florence is still lovely and here are some pictures of my recent Sunday stroll.

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Forbidden from leaving Florence by Covid restrictions (damn you Orange Zone!), I’ve been challenging myself to find new and interesting things to see and do in this amazing city. Otherwise, I’m afraid I will get mighty bored. Plus, the weather has been amazing for a week. In the 60s and sunny, with nary a cloud skidding through the blue, blue sky.

I’m particularly drawn to the section of Florence known as the Viale dei Colli in the Oltrarno. I can hop on a bus near my home in the northern hills of Florence and the #13 bus will take me through the city and un the Viale dei Colli to Piazzale Michelangelo, or, if I ride further, to San Miniato al Monte. I sometimes choose to ride the bus further, to the Forte di Belvedere or, even, to the Porta Romana. As you can see, the #13 offers me a lot of options.

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The pictures from this post are from a section of the Viale dei Colli that I’ve not previously walked. I rode the #13 bus past the Forte di Belvedere and got off at the next stop. I was welcomed with a flurry of pink and white plum blossoms, which I stopped to enjoy, while listening to birdsong.

The map below shows my route through the Oltrarno; the blue line designates the gorgeous drive known as the Viale dei Colli, designed in the 19th century by landscape architect, Giuseppe Poggi.

I saw many new things on this first walk through this area. Here are some of the lovely images.

I followed some joggers off the main Viale and onto a small street, via Bonciani, where I was immediately rewarded for my effort with my first awareness of the fact that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the Russian composer, lived in this villa during one of his many visits to Florence. In fact, I learned later, he wrote his String Sextet in D minor “Souvenir de Florence,” Op. 70, is a string sextet scored for 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos composed in the summer of 1890. The work, in the traditional four-movement form, was titled “Souvenir de Florence” because the composer sketched one of the work’s principal themes while visiting Florence, Italy, where he composed The Queen of Spades. The work premiered in 1892.

So there you go, 15 minutes off the bus and already I’ve been rewarded with pink and white flowers and another layer of Florence’s rich history: a major Russian composer lived and worked among these hills to the south of the city. Oh my, I do love this place!

The magnificent private homes, all villas, along the Viale are a sight to behold, especially in spring with the early blossoms and bright green grass. A little later in the season and the scenes would be obscured with the tree foliage.

Taking a left off the Tchaikovsky street, I encountered this beautiful streetscape, highlighted with spring sunshine. The doorway on the left side is quite a mavel, as you will see next:

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Back out on the main Viale, I encountered the lovely Villa Magnolia. One can only imagine the views these villas have of the skyline of beautiful Florence.

Not long after, I spied this grand staircase leading to? who knows? I had to ascend to find out.

Climbing the many, many steps, I saw this tiny little volunteer violet. Be still my heart!

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At the top, I met this tall, dark fellow, Mr. Daniele Mann, about whom I know nothing and can find nothing in Google.

Back down the same stairs I climbed up, the next new thing I saw was this park, above and below. Complete with picnickers! I mean, who knew? Turns out this lovely little untrammeled area is known as Giardino Bobolino. I had no idea it even existed!

The way I understand it, the beautiful villa, now called Villa Cora, is a part of the same estate from which the Giardino Bobolino is formed. Today Villa Cora is an upscale hotel (closed for Covid, thank you very much), but the lush, verdant grounds of the Giardino are open to all.

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There’s a sculpture installation at the intersection of the top part of the Viale and the Giardino Bobolino, composed of 4 tall, metal abstracted human figures. With the sculptures is a plaque honoring Paul P. Harris, as founder of Rotary Clubs. I don’t quite understand this group and can’t find anything about it with a Google search. Hmm…

Following the viale downwards towards Porta Romana, I saw another view and access point to the Giardino Bobolino:

And then, off to the left and above this fountain, I noticed what I can only describe as a “Tuscan chalet,” seen below. Isn’t it odd and wonderful? I have no idea what it is used for: it is completely shut up.

At the end of my walk, I entered Florence again through the Porta Romana. I’ll be back again soon with more discoveries found in this astounding city!

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Paris had Haussmann, Rome had Valadier, Florence had Poggi. These men changed the looks of their respective cities.

I spend a lot of time on the Viale dei Colli, the gorgeous drive through the hills to the south of the city of Florence. This is where you will find Piazzale Michelangelo (designed by Poggi) as well as the Rose Garden, San Miniato al Monte, Forte Belvedere and so much more. Poggi linked all of these sites along his magnificent Viale, which was then covered with expensive villas by wealthy citizens.

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Someone should write a book in English about this gorgeous Viale and its fascinating history!

Beauty, as we all know, is ephemeral. This gorgeous pink magnolia tree in Florence is at the end of its glory for this season. We’re expecting rain and the remaining petals will soon wash away.

So, here, in all it’s pinky beauty, are my pictures taken yesterday of this phenomenon.