WIBW Florence: The Boboli Gardens

Hey everyone! Welcome to the next installment in my Where I’ve Been Wednesday series. To all of the new readers, you can find out more about WIBW here.  Last time we did this I took you to Sedona, AZ but honestly I haven’t had enough of Italy yet.  Have you?  Today I’d like to show you some of the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy.

The Duke of Florence, Cosimo I de’Medici, built the Boboli Gardens for his wife Eleanora in 1537.  They are located behind the Pitti Palace where the Medici family resided.  In Cosimo’s absence, Eleanora frequently served as Regent for Florence and was also known as a patroness of the arts.  As a symbol of his love for her, the gardens were created so that all of Florence could be viewed from them.  Pretty romantic right?

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The gardens have beautiful water features

 

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Tons of sculptures

and nice wide pathways

“He said what???”

I thought this sculpture was really cool looking since it seems like it’s broken into hundreds of pieces.  It’s the only modern sculpture in the gardens and was created by Igor Mitoraj.

peek a boo!

and finally this is the view from the back of the gardens.  The building in the background that looks like a castle is actually Fort Belvedere and has a passage that leads all the way to the palace.  This was a safe point for the Medici family if they were under attack.

Well, that’s all there is for Where I’ve Been Wednesday this week.  I hope you enjoyed seeing the Boboli Gardens   If you’d like to see the other WIBW posts, I’ve just created a travels page. 

Have a great day all!