The Boboli Gardens ( Italian : Giardino di Boboli /’bo.bo.li/) is a historical park of the city of Florence that was opened to the public in 1766. Originally designed for the Medici , it represents one of the first and most important examples of the Italian garden , which later served as inspiration for many European courts. Statues of various styles and periods, ancient and Renaissance, dot the garden. It also has large fountains and artificial caves, notably a grotto built by the artist, architect, and sculptor Bernardo Buontalenti between 1536 and 1608.
25-493: Boboli may refer to: Boboli Gardens , a park in Florence Boboli (pizza) , a brand of ready-made pizza crusts owned by Grupo Bimbo Boboli (clothing) , a line of children's clothing Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Boboli . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
50-412: A corruption of "Bogoli" or "Borgoli", possibly the name of a family who had previously owned the land. The first stage had scarcely been begun by Niccolò Tribolo when he died in 1550, after which the construction was continued by Bartolomeo Ammanati . Giorgio Vasari contributed to the planning, and Bernardo Buontalenti contributed sculptures, as well as the elaborate architecture of the grotto in
75-457: A statue in the likeness of the famed dwarf buffoon from the court of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany , Nano Morgante modeled after Bacchus and riding a tortoise . In 1572 the statue was turned into a fountain. The Isolotto is an oval-shaped island in a tree-enclosed pond, and is nearly at the end of the alternative Viottolone axis. In the centre of the island is the Fountain of
100-783: The Mercato Nuovo in 1547 and Giorgio Vasari with the Mercato Vecchio in Florence in 1567. Giulio rebuilt the Villa di Poggio Imperiale (1620–1622), and constructed the Ospedale dei Medicanti (1621), the church of San Felice in Piazza (1634–1635) and worked on projects for the Palazzo della Crocetta for Maria Maddalena de' Medici . His is also the grand stairs of Palazzo Gianni-Lucchesini-Vegni (1624). In
125-533: The 16th and 17th century, theatre was for the very wealthy. Parigi constructed many sets for the Medici Court. Although none of these sets have survived, descriptions of them have been passed down. Parigi's set designs were notable for the instructions of machines that could emulate natural phenomena. These designs earned him a reputation as one of the most innovative stage designers of the 17th century. Parigi's worked straddled many various media and disciplines. He
150-475: The 17th century to their present extent of 450,000 meters² (111 acres). The Boboli Gardens have come to form an outdoor museum of garden sculpture that includes Roman antiquities as well as 16th and 17th century works. In the first phase of building, the amphitheatre was excavated in the hillside behind the palace. Initially formed by clipped edges and greens, it was later formalized by rebuilding in stone decorated with statues based on Roman myths such as
175-501: The Elder , was an architect and designer working in Florence for the Grand Duke of Tuscany . He became noted as one of the most innovative stage designers of the 17th-century and was also the first architect to use the loggia style in public buildings. Giulio Parigi was born in Florence on 6 April 1571, the son of Alfonso di Santi Parigi and his wife, Alessandra di Berto Fiammeri. His father
200-645: The Fountain of the Ocean (sculpted by Giambologna , later transferred to another location within the same garden). The small Grotto of Madama and the Large Grotto were begun by Vasari and completed by Ammannati and Buontalenti between 1583 and 1593. Even while undergoing restoration work in 2015, the Large Grotto's statues were still on display; they are defining examples of Mannerist sculpture and architecture. Decorated internally and externally with stalactites and originally equipped with waterworks and luxuriant vegetation,
225-675: The Friars of St. Bernard, outside of the Roman Gate (now destroyed). From 1613 onwards Giulio worked intensively as a civil engineer commissioned by the Grand Duke. Giulio worked on the Boboli Gardens , constructing the Grotto of Vulcan ( Grotticina di Vulcano , 1617) and laying out the second axis of the Boboli Gardens , at right angles to the first, with the bosquets on either side. Giulio constructed
250-519: The Loggia del Grano in 1619, a Tuscan style loggia, and was thus amongst the first architects to employ the loggia in public buildings such as markets. The loggias established a pattern of market trading using mobile stalls under covered arcades which filtered out of the Italian peninsula and across Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Earlier exponents of this style included Giovanni Battista del Tasso with
275-540: The Ocean, and in the surrounding moat, there are statues of Perseus and Andromeda (school of Giambologna ). The Isolotto was laid out by Giulio and Alfonso Parigi, circa 1618. Giulio Parigi Giulio Parigi (6 April 1571 – 13 July 1635) was an Italian architect and designer. He was the main member of a family of architects and designers working for the Grand Ducal court of the Medici . His father, Alfonso Parigi
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#1732848284204300-616: The Younger was also an architect and engraver. Alfonso worked with his father and under his supervision, completed some of the major projects. Parigi died in Florence on 13 July 1635. According to the Dictionary of Biography, "The centrality of the role played by Giulio Parigi in the artistic culture of his time emerges with great clarity in the Privilege that on February 14, 1623 it was granted to him by Grand Duke Ferdinand II ... recalling how during
325-546: The birth of that artform. He staged operas at the Medici court and in Florence's opera houses; creating innovative new machinery for sets for work's like Ottavio Rinuccini ’s Festa dell’Agnolo Gabriello (1620) and Marco da Gagliano ’s La regina Sant’Orsola (1624). His son, Alfonso Parigi, was also an innovative scenic designer for operas. In 1610 Parigi built the Convent of the Peace of
350-431: The center of Florence. Higher up on the hillside is a statue of Abundance ( Dovizia ). Collectively, these works seem to allude to a legend in which the gods Athena and Neptune are competing for the role of the patron of Athens. In that legend, Neptune strikes the ground with his trident, causing water to spring forth from it. The Fontana del Bacchino is a 1560 sculptural work by Valerio Cioli (1529–1599) featuring
375-599: The center of the amphitheater and rather dwarfed by its position is the Ancient Egyptian Boboli obelisk brought from the Villa Medici at Rome. This primary axis terminates in a fountain of Neptune (known to the irreverent Florentines as the "Fountain of the Fork" for Neptune's trident); the sculpture of Neptune, by Stoldo Lorenzi , is visible against the skyline as a visitor climbs the slope. Giulio Parigi laid out
400-440: The court architect Bernardo Buontalenti , Giulio Parigi was trained in the practice of architecture. Following Buontalenti's death (1608) he designed and oversaw the creation of the elaborate ephemeral decorations for court festivities, in which he was an influence on Inigo Jones , who was providing similar services in the same years for the court of James I of England . He also was an important early scenic designer for operas at
425-406: The courtyard that separates the palace from its garden. The garden lacks a natural water source. To water its plants, a conduit was built to feed water from the nearby Arno River into an elaborate irrigation system. The primary axis, centered on the rear façade of the palace, rises on Boboli Hill from a deep amphitheater ; its shape resembles half of a classical hippodrome or racecourse. At
450-601: The grotto is divided into three main sections. The first one was frescoed to create the illusion of a natural grotto, a refuge that allows shepherds to protect themselves from wild animals; it originally housed The Prisoners of Michelangelo (now replaced by copies), statues that were first intended for the tomb of the Pope Julius II . Other rooms in the Grotto contain Giambologna's famous Bathing Venus and an 18th-century group of Paris and Helen by Vincenzo de' Rossi . In
475-532: The hillside above the amphitheatre is a double ramp, leading to the Fountain of Neptune . Its main feature is a large basin with a central bronze statue of Neptune , made by Stoldo Lorenzi some time between 1565 and 1568. The fountain was constructed contemporaneously with its more famous counterpart, Ammannati's Fountain of Neptune , which is at the corner of the Palazzo Vecchio at the Piazza della Signoria in
500-413: The like. The openness of the garden, with an expansive view of the city, was unconventional for its time. The gardens were very lavish, considering no access was allowed to anyone outside the immediate Medici family, and no entertainment or parties are ever known to have taken place in the gardens. The Boboli Gardens were laid out for Eleonora di Toledo , the wife of Cosimo I de' Medici . The name may be
525-464: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boboli&oldid=932729463 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Boboli Gardens The Gardens, directly behind the Pitti Palace ,
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#1732848284204550-713: The long secondary axis, the Viottolone or Cyprus Road at a right angle to the primary axis. This road led up through a series of terraces and water features, the main one being the Isolotto complex, with the bosquets on either side, and then allowed for exit from the gardens almost at Porta Romana, which was one of the main gates of the walled city. In 1617, Parigi constructed the Grotto of Vulcan ( Grotticina di Vulcano ) along this axis. The gardens have passed through several stages of enlargement and restructuring work. They were enlarged in
575-519: The main seat of the Medici grand dukes of Tuscany at Florence , are some of the first and most familiar formal 16th-century Italian gardens. The mid-16th-century garden style, as it was developed here, incorporated longer axial developments, wide gravel avenues, a considerable "built" element of stone, the lavish employment of statuary and fountains, and a proliferation of detail, coordinated in semi-private and public spaces that were informed by classical accents: grottos , nympheums , garden temples and
600-655: Was an architect and set designer who was in service to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Giulio grew up in Medici Florence, amongst the craftsmen who worked for his father. In 1594 he was enrolled at the Academy of Design as a painter and in 1597 he was enrolled at the Grand Ducal Court He was apprenticed to his father, Alfonso, Bartolomeo di Antonio Ammannati (1511–1592) and also to the theatre engineer, Bernardo Buontalenti (1535–1608). Through his father's collaborations under
625-488: Was an artist who worked in oil, drawing and frescoes; he was an engraver, cabinet-maker, jeweller, landscape designer, architect and engineer. His work as a set designer required skills in engineering and mechanics in which he was noted for his innovations. He was also the Master of an Academy where he studied Euclid, taught mechanics, perspective, civilian and military architecture. Giulio's son, Alfonso's grandson, Alfonso Parigi
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