Villa Bardini e Giardino Bardini

Villa Bardini and its garden occupy four hectares on a hillside within Florence's medieval walls. The estate brings together an Italian garden with a Baroque staircase, an English-style wood and an agricultural park with orchard and wisteria pergola.

Why it matters

The estate's three distinct garden areas preserve several approaches to landscape design in one setting. The grounds contain about two hundred sculptures, thirteen fountains and three grottoes, reflecting the antiquarian Stefano Bardini's interest in sculpture and garden architecture. The villa and garden now serve as part of Florence's cultural heritage.

What to notice

The Baroque staircase links the Italian garden's terraces. The English-style wood preserves elements of the Anglo-Chinese garden fashion, while the agricultural park includes the orchard and celebrated wisteria pergola. Older trees, flowering collections and fountains contribute to the garden's changing character across the seasons. The villa itself combines earlier architectural phases with objects gathered by Bardini, whose collection shaped the estate's present appearance.

Context and history

The villa was founded in 1641 by architect Gherardo Silvani for Francesco Manadori and was first known as Villa Manadora. The property later passed through several owners before Stefano Bardini acquired it in 1913 and furnished the grounds with sculptures, fountains and benches. After Bardini's son Ugo died in 1965, the estate passed to the Italian State in 1987. The Fondazione Monumentale Bardini e Peyron was established in 1998 to restore the property; the garden reopened in 2005 and the villa returned to the city in 2007 as an exhibition space and cultural centre.