Restoration of the Guicciardini Corsi Salviati Garden

Project details

The garden is an important historical landmark result of style layers, which over more than four centuries have closely linked together its various components, to form a single organism, in which the architectural aspects of the villa and those of the surrounding  landscape converge and coexist in harmony. It has origins in the second half of the sixteenth century. After the transformations desired at the beginning of the 18 century by the brothers Antonio and Domenico Maria Corsi, directed by the architect Ferdinando Ruggieri (1678-1741), the garden took on a baroque shape. To this phase belongs the peculiar “ragnaia” (formal thicket for the fowling birds) that develops along a channel fed by a basin adorned with a tangle of dolphins. The garden was ornamented with a rich decorative  apparatus of sculptures. With Amerigo Corsi (1788-1850) the entire east area was transformed into a landscaped garden. A small lake was created, with an island accessible through a bridge. This transformation was followed by Francesco Antonio Corsi (1814-1878), and  by his son Bardo (1844-1907) who created a lush garden of acclimation with exotic species. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a further and definitive modification took place following the revival of the Italianate Garden. Giulio Guicciardini (1887-1958), heir of Bardo, undertook a partial restoration, eliminating much of the landscaped garden, with the reconstruction of evergreen hedges, oak groves and planting a boxwood labyrinth. The English landscaped area, the labyrinth, the “ragnaia” and other green and architectural features were poorly kept. Even though the garden is in an area now strongly urbanized, it remains the symbol of a close relationship with the surrounding territory, although changed over time but still appreciable, such as the large farm having its core in the villa.

The restoration project, financed by PNRR funds and managed by the Guicciardini Corsi Salviati family, has allowed the preservation of the vast arboreal and botanical heritage and the overall structure of the garden. In particular, the interventions aimed to restore the various formal gardens, such as the “young lady’s garden” and parterres, renew and improve the plumbing of the numerous tanks, optimize their flows and reduce water waste; restore the functionality of the landscaped pond and the ragnaias water channel. The restoration of the labyrinth through the regeneration of existing boxwood plants was one on the main achievements.