When on first arrives at the Gardens at Pratolino, the firs things that strikes you is the stillness, the scent of loam, and the sigh of the wind through its trees. Perhaps an overly romanticized description, but it is no less true. After the hustle and bustle of Florence’s tourist laden streets, visiting these Gardens was a blessed retreat from the daily grind of urban life. It is at that moment that you can feel a kind of kinship with the Medici’s who built retreats like Pratolino for precisely that purpose, to get away from the increasingly crowded and hectic burdens of urban life.
This place has seen many owners, many of whom have dramatic stories all their own. The Villa and Gardens here first came to life in 1568. When first crafted, Francisco I de Medici intended every element of the retreat to be laden with meaning, both symbolic and practical. Its very layout is intended to encapsulate a near mystical connection between past and present, with the longitudinal axis representing the Ancients, while its latitudinal axis represents the Moderns. At the intersection of these two forces, the villa itself was built. Francisco used this garden to explore his interests in horticulture, the natural sciences, and alchemy. Every element, from the pools running its western edge, to the placement of the Jupiter statue at the pinnacle of the Ancients, held deep mystical meaning for Francisco. In the following century, Fernando de Medici revived its use, but this time endowing it with a more musical purpose. After building a theatre into the villa, he brought in composers and musicians to perform, hosting the height of 17th century music in this very villa.
As the family’s fortunes waned in the following century, so did this garden. Soon, circumstances forced the Medici’s to part with the villa and its gardens, instead passing into Hapsburg hands. As a result, these new owners shut it down, leaving it in disrepair and letting the wilds take back large portions of the estate that had for centuries been meticulously cared for. In 1814, the park was redesigned in the romantic fashion, where nature was given more reign and the will of man was less thoroughly imposed. Walking paths followed the contours of the land, rather than cutting through it. Pools were made to appear natural, rather than following the rigid mystical patterns laid out by Francisco in 1568. The villa itself was demolished due to structural instability. Supposedly, this was due to a crack that nearly bisected the building caused by earthquakes in the region. While it was supposed to be rebuilt, the funds never materialized, and the site remains empty. In 1874, the gardens were passed on to the Demidoff family, a Russian family that soon became key patrons of the arts and social programs in Tuscany. Perhaps unknown to them, they took up residency in one of the few remaining original Medici structures, the servant’s quarters, which they endowed with a grandeur it had never knew before. They lined walls in red velvets and dark, carved wood in the Russian style.
In the present, the gardens have taken on a new life and purpose. They still serve as a retreat to all who would escape the daily burdens of urban life, flawlessly maintained in the romantic style, yet have become home to far more than simply that. In recent years, they have become the home of the Laboratorio Didattico Ambientale: an organization dedicated environmental education. These experts work closely with schools from all over Tuscany to spread understanding of how man can live in harmony with nature. In concert with the Metropolitan City of Florence, this organization strives to show school children the basic tenets of sustainable development, key element in achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
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