BOBOLI GARDENS, Second Part

If you climb from Neptune's Nursery up to the last level of the Boboli Gardens with the statue of Abundance by Giambologna, you've reached the highest part of the park. It's called the Knight's Garden because the "Knight's Casino" was built here in the 1700s.

The three rooms of the Knight's Casino are now home to the Porcelain Museum, with a collection of objects from all of the European manufactures of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Meissen, Vienna, Capodimonte, Wedgewood, and Doccia: I'd like to point out the Sèvres service that Napoleon gave to his sister Elisa, Duchess of Lucca.

The garden continues along the city walls, with a long wing to the right. This is where I suggest continuing your walk along the so-called Viottolone, a large avenue of cypresses with classical statues and carved sculptures from the Baroque era.

Walk for a while and you'll reach a large circular basin surrounded by hedges and statues: this is the 17th-century Piazzale dell'Isolotto. Surprise! Two walkways give you access to the island in the middle of the pond. Here at the center, adorned with vases and statues, you can see the beautiful Ocean Fountain, one of the first monumental works of Giambologna, a sculptor of French origin who flourished in Florence towards the end of the 16th century.

Your stroll along the Viottolone continues to the bright Lawn of Columns, and ends with an ornamental composition of ancient and Renaissance sculptures....