Normally inaccessible private palaces and villas are unveiled to the public thanks to the efforts of A.D.S.I (Association of Historic Dwellings) on May 21. Hours for Sunday’s “Cortili e Giardini Aperti” event are 10 am – 1 pm and 3 – 7 pm. For the complete listing and times, see www.adsi.it.
While admission to all venues is free, guided visits are available for €5 at four different locations in Florence; reservations required at info@cittanascosta.it.
At 10 am the first begins in Piazza San Francesco di Paola, 3, leading to two private gardens: San Francesco di Paola and Giardino Torrigiani.
Meeting at 11:30 am on via della Vigna Nuova 18 is a tour starting at Palazzo Rucellai, a famous work by Leon Battista Alberti. The secrets of the palatial townhouse will be spotlighted, starting with its grid-like Renaissance façade; each story displays a different classical column order – Tuscan at the base, Renaissance Ionic on the second story, and simplified Corinthian at the top. The excursion will then hop over to the High Renaissance style Palazzo Bartolini on via Tornabuoni and cross over the river to Teatro Rinuccini.
Past a small door in the wall now part of a high school for classical and science studies in the Santo Spirito neighborhood, Teatro Rinuccini has been recently restored to showcase ornate 18th century rococo embellishments, including ceiling frescoes and a grand crystal chandelier.
At 3 pm, via dei Benci, 1 is the meeting spot for a secret garden and allegoric painting tour of Renaissance and Baroque style palaces such as Palazzo Malenchini, Palazzo Antinori Corsini and Palazzo Borghese.
The day’s final outing will begin at 5 pm in Piazza Santissima Annuziata, 1 to discover Palazzo Grifoni Budini Gattai, a High Renaissance palace with a grotto and enclosed garden. Bartolomeo Ammannati was the building’s architect and the designer, a few years later, of Ponte Santa Trinita, the bridge that leads into Santo Spirito.
The afternoon will conclude at Palazzo Ximenes Panciatichi, a lavish palace, named for a noble Florentine family of Portuguese origin. The building’s interior design ranges from early Renaissance to the rococo, culminating in a grand ballroom which contrasts the simple garden outside.
For the complete listing and times, see www.adsi.it. (tessa lucia debole)
SITES IN FLORENCE, open from 10 am – 1 pm and 2 – 7 pm unless stated otherwise
- Giardino San Francesco di Paola (piazza San Francesco di Paola, 3)
- Giardino Torrigiani (via dei Serragli, 146. Open from 10am – 1 pm and 3 – 6 pm)
- Giardino Corsi Annalena (via Romana, 38)
- Giardino di Palazzo Wagnière-Fontana Elliott (lungarno Soderini, 9)
- Palazzo Antinori Aldobrandini (via dei Serragli, 9)
- Palazzo e Teatro Rinuccini (via Santo Spirito, 39)
- Palazzo Frescobaldi (via Santo Spirito, 13)
- Palazzo Michelozzi (via Maggio, 11)
- Palazzo Rucellai (via della Vigna Nuova, 18)
- Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni (piazza Santa Trinita 1)
- Palazzo e Giardino Rosselli Del Turco (borgo Santi Apostoli, 19)
- Palazzo Capponi (lungarno Torrigiani, 25)
- Giardino Vegni (via San Niccolò, 93. Open continuously from 10 am – 7 pm)
- Palazzo Malenchini (via dei Benci, 1)
- Palazzo Antinori Corsini (Borgo Santa Croce, 6)
- Giardino degli Antellesi (piazza Santa Croce, 21)
- Palazzo Fossi (via dei Benci, 20)
- Palazzo Peruzzi (Borgo dei Greci, 12)
- Palazzo Gondi (via dei Gondi, 2)
- Palazzo Borghese (via Ghibellina, 110. Open from 10 am – 12 noon, and 3 – 6 pm)
- Palazzo Pucci (via de’ Pucci, 4)
- Palazzo Grifoni Budini Gattai (piazza SS Annunziata 1)
- Palazzo Tommasi – Galleria Etra Studio Marcello Tommasi (via della Pergola, 57. open from 2 pm – 7 pm)
- Palazzo Ximenes Panciatichi (borgo Pinti, 68)
- Giardino di Palazzo Pandolfini (via San Gallo, 74)
- Villa Fontallerta (via Augusto Righi, 60)
- Villa Il Roseto – Fondazione Giovanni Michelucci (via Beato Angelico, 15. The villa and garden will be open at 2:30 pm for the tour)