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Rose Garden

nature
Naturalistic attractions

400 varieties of roses in a beautiful and fragrant garden overlooking Florence

The Rose Garden in Florence is a place of extraordinary beauty, the ideal site for a romantic promenade or for a break in a green oasis with a panoramic view over the city. The Garden is in fact located in Viale Giuseppe Poggi, just below Piazzale Michelangelo, and from here one can enjoy a splendid view of the entire historic center, a Unesco World Heritage Site whose area includes the Garden itself.

The garden houses a collection of roses (about 400 varieties) and also lemons and other plants, for a total of about 1,200.
Giardino delle rose
Giardino delle rose - Credit: C. D'Aliasi
The garden was created in 1865 by Giuseppe Poggi, who also designed also the Piazzale, on behalf of the City of Florence, ready to become the capital of Italy after Turin. Built according to the French model, the garden has a bucolic natural setting, yet it was streamlined to accommodate the Italian style. 

In recent years it has been enriched with some works of art. Today it houses ten bronze sculptures by Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon, donated to the City by the widow of the artist, perfectly integrated into the naturalistic path. There is also a real Japanese Shorai oasis by the Japanese architect Yasuo Kitayama, donated to Florence by the twin city of Kyōto and by the Zen Kodai-Ji temple.