All of the most elegant villas of Florence are surrounded by parks and garden whose original beauty is reproduced in the lunettes by Iustus van Utens exhibited at the convent of the Oblate.

Some of these "open-air museums" can still be admired, although they have undergone several changes under the influence of Mannerism, Baroque and Romanticism.

The first park that we are going to visit in our virtual tour is Boboli Garden. Situated in the Oltrarno district, between Palazzo Pitti and Forte Belvedere, the garden, which covers a surface of about 4 hectares, was designed around mid-16th century by Tribolo by order of the Medicis. As we have already said in the short tourist guide, Boboli is one the gardens that have been remodelled and enlarged in the course of the centuries.

The garden features many interesting decorations, including an amphitheatre (at the centre of which stands an Egyptian obelisk dating back to 1500 BC), the fountain of Neptune and Buontalenti Grotto (an artificial cave decorated with sculptures and frescoes).

Your tour of Florence parks and gardens can continues with a walk in the Cascine, Florence widest park (it covers a surface of over 150 hectares). Realised in the 16th century on the right bank of the river Arno, the park can be seen by most of the palaces and villas in districts 1, 4 and 5. In the origin it was a hunting and agricultural area belonging to the Medici family, but in the 19th century it was converted into a public park. In the Cascine are an amphitheatre, some sports facilities, swimming pools and a disco club.

At the end of this chapter, we advise you to visit the Giardino dell`Iris at Piazzale Michelangelo and the park of Villa Demidoff in Pratolino, as well.