Giardino delle rose (The Rose Garden) is a garden park in the Oltrarno district of Florence, in Tuscany, Italy. It is located below the

Piazzale Michelangelo Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo Square) is a square with a panoramic view of Florence, Italy, located in the Oltrarno district of the city. History This Florentine piazza was designed by architect Giuseppe Poggi and built in 1869 on a hil ...

and offers a commanding view of the city.

History

The Rose Garden was created by the Florentine architect

Giuseppe Poggi Giuseppe Poggi (3 April 1811 – 19 March 1901) was an Italian architect, mainly active in Tuscany. Biography A native of Florence, he received numerous commissions from the city's upper bourgeoisie for renovations of palaces and gardens. F ...

in 1865, following a commission by the municipality of Florence to develop the left bank of the

Arno River The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a s ...

, when the capital of Italy was moved from Turin to Florence that year. His contributions include both the Pialeas Michelangelo and the garden. It has an area of about 1 ha and is terraced. Once part of the property of the Oratorian Fathers, the Podere San Francesco (San Francesco farm), the area was transformed into a garden by Attilio Pucci, who started a collection of roses. In 1895, the garden was opened for the first time to the public during the Arts and Flowers Festival, which was held every May. In 1998, the garden gained a Japanese Shorai oasis, donated by Yasuo Kitayama and the Kōdai-ji Zen temple by the Florence's twin city of Kyoto. Since September 2011 the garden has hosted twelve sculptures by the Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon, donated by his widow to the municipality of Florence. The sculptures are: ''Partir'' (2005), ''Un oiseau'' (1993), ''Chat-oiseau'' (1994), ''Chat'' (1996), ''Vingt-cinquième pensée'' (2001), ''Méditerranée'' (2001), ''Panthère'' (2003), ''Walking'' (2003), ''Je me souviens'' (2003), ''Partir'' (2005) and ''L’envol'' (2005).

Location and access

The garden is situated on the southern slopes of the Monte alle Croci overlooking the river Arno and the central historic district of Florence on its north bank. It is bounded to the south west by the pedestrian Scalea del Monte alle Croci from which it is accessed. A second pedestrian access is from the Viale Giuseppe Poggi in the eastern end of the upper garden. Vehicular access is also from this road but further down the hill. It forms part of a cluster of major attractions to the south east of the city on the slopes of Monte alle Croci which also include the

Giardino dell'Iris Giardino dell'Iris is a botanical garden specializing in the cultivation of iris flowers, symbol of Florence since 1251. It is located on the corner of Viale dei Colli and Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), off ...

and the churches of San Salvatore al Monte and San Miniato al Monte. The Piazzale Michelangelo can be accessed from the top garden exit by crossing the Viale Giuseppe Poggi and walking up the ramp on the opposite side. Originally open only in May, it is now open all year round from 9am to sunset (8pm May–September, 6pm October, March and April, and 5pm November–February) except Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The best time to visit the garden to enjoy its beauty is in the spring when the roses are at their best.

References

Bibliography

* * * Gardens in Florence 1865 establishments in Italy Tourist attractions in Florence Rose gardens in Italy {{Italy-garden-stub

History

Location and access

See also

References

Bibliography