Tuscan Gardens - The pick of Tuscan gardens and villas

As for lovers of art, so also for lovers of gardens: the allure of Tuscany is irresistible, consisting of a dense concentration of historically important and magically beautiful examples which are ensconced in landscapes and urban settings of exceptional attractiveness. 

Some of the world’s earliest surviving gardens are here; a couple on this tour date to the 15th century. There’s a clutch of immensely influential gardens of the 16th century, creations of the ruling Medici dynasty, and fine examples from the next couple of centuries are also present. Most of the planting has periodically been renewed of course, but modern curatorship and conservation practices have brought these historic gardens closer to their original appearance than they have been for a very long time. 

Some of the most attractive gardens in the region do not pretend to be historicist recreations, however, but are 20th-century variations on the ‘Italian’ style. Some have French or English ingredients, some elements are entirely original, but nevertheless they remain quintessentially Tuscan.  

A prime mover here was the ex-pat community in and around Florence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was numerous, generally inclined towards matters aesthetic and not infrequently very rich. Their patronage, and the genius of English garden designer Cecil Pincent, gave rise to the Anglo-American Renaissance Revival which incorporated traditional forms and ingredients into innovative and enchanting designs.  

The famously distinctive Tuscan landscape, with its terraced hillsides, complex textures and subtle variety of greens – olives, cypress trees, vines, oak and pasture – not only provides a constant backdrop to these gardens but, in many cases, played a role in the designer’s scheme. The tilting topography necessitated the terraces from which the surrounding countryside and the valley settlements can be viewed. 

The Renaissance revival of Classical learning quickened the development of the villa as a place of retreat and as a resort for intellectual and horticultural pastimes. Allied to this was the transformation of the medieval, antagonistic attitude towards nature towards one of joy in the sight of nearby farmland and distant vistas.