August Musical Stroll Through the Villa Bardini Gardens

 

The Villa Bardini Gardens, accessible via Costa San Giorgio 2, offers a guided walk through the greenery, accompanied by music, on Monday, August 5 at 5 pm.

The live performance, presented by the musicians of  Xenia Chamber Music Course, includes pieces by Carl von Dittersdorf, Franz Schubert, Haydn, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Bartok Elgar and Rachmaninoff.

The gardens, comprising the villa are located on top of a hill and offer one of Florence’s best and prettiest views, particularly of Santa Croce.

The villa was constructed in 1641 thanks to architect Gherardo Silvani and has passed through owners over the years.

The last owner was antiques dealer Stefano Bardini who bought the building in 1913, from which the gardens and villa now take their name. Many years later, the State bought back the villa (1987), and was taken over by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze (bank foundation) in 1998. With the foundation in charge, the villa and gardens were opened to the public, (the house since 2007 and gardens since 2005).

The gardens, expanding four hectares in size, are rich with orchards, rose beds, iris flowers, hydrangeas and run alongside part of Florence’s medieval wall.  Encompassed are English-style woods, baroque staircases and rural gardens decorated with around 200 statues, stone pots and vases.