Orti Oricellari

It was the Palazzo Venturi Ginori's garden, property by Rucellai family (or "Oricellari"). In 1573, the property was purchased by Bianca Cappello, who brought it back to its former glory. In the mid-seventeenth century, Cardinal Giovan Carlo de' Medici, came into possession of the Villa and the Park, became a promoter of an important series of works, creating a Garden with Italian plant. The decoration was inspired by the work of Bernardo Buontalenti at Pratolino, both for the use of water features, and for the presence of giant statues, in an environment characterized by heraldic scenes inspired by Classical mythology. Among the many scenic views, it stood the mammoth statue of the "Drinking Polyphemus", by Antonio Novelli, well 8.40 meters high, plastered masonry with iron structure. The water that fed the fountains came directly from Boboli. In the same period, the Novelli always realizes the Orti Cave, underground, consisting of two rooms decorated with sponges and statues depicting the Winds. In 1808, Giuseppe Stiozzi-Ridolfi bought the Garden, extending it according to the fashion of the Tomantic English park, designed by Luigi De Cambray-Digny. In 1861, there was a new change of ownership, with the Princess Olga Orloff, who commissioned Giuseppe Poggi to modernize Villa and Garden. Poggi created a Classical project, which provided for the restoration of the pond from which emerged the statue of Polyphemus. In 1892 the site was declared National Monument.