Located at the foot of rolling hills and set in a villa- and garden-studded landscape, Villa Torrigiani’s gardens combine flower beds and a park home to majestic trees.
The original layout of the complex dates back to the 16th century, when it was property of the Buonvisi family. However, in the following century the park was modified in keeping with French taste, taking on a markedly Baroque quality that has been attributed to André Le Nôtre. An avenue of centuries-old cypresses leads to the main building characterised by a splendid facade with a double order of serliane. Before it, unfolds a large lawn with two 18th-century basins, delimited by monumental trees. On the right is the Garden of Flora, a very rare example of a Baroque flower garden preserving the flower bed original formal layout. On the south side of the property, the Garden of Flora ends with a Nymphaeum, an octagonal pavilion crowned by a dome with the statue of the goddess and wrought iron masks and floral embellishments. This space featured spectacular water features that inspired the Arcadian poet Filandro Cretense who visited the villa in 1783, to compose verses dedicated to the very science of hydraulics that made such wonderous spectacle possible. A remarkable double ramp staircase composition connects the garden with the upper level, dominated by a large fish pond. The 19th-century park partially replaced the Baroque garden on the east side of the lawn, with a variety of tree specimens including Liriodendron tulipifera, the tulip tree, and the so-called bald cypress (Taxodium distichum). Also noteworthy is the 19th-century collection of camellias on the west side of the garden.
Highlights
The Camellia collection
Camellias were first introduced in Lucca in the late 18th century and from then on cultivated with great results, since the area assures a particularly suitable climate and soil. Many splendid varieties of this plant were produced during the 19th century; Villa Torrigiani is home to some of the oldest examples in the area.
The 19th-century park
The monumental trees surrounding the complex testify to the importance of botanical collecting in the area of Lucca, a practice that developed during the 19th century also thanks to the activity of the Botanical Garden of Lucca founded in 1820 by Maria Luisa of the House of Bourbon and the spread of the English-style landscaped garden trend.
The Garden of Flora
Located on a lower level in order to protect its very valuable flowers, especially tulips, this garden is connected to the level above via a spectacular double ramp staircase embellished with statues and vases. Part of this layout is also a grotto with functioning water features.