Historic garden · 18th–19th century · Florence, Tuscany

Garden of the Royal Stables

The Garden of the Royal Stables (Giardino delle Scuderie Reali) is a historic green space in Florence associated with the former royal stables of the Savoy monarchy, located near the Cascine park area north of the Arno. Created in the 18th or early 19th century as part of the grand ducal and later royal estate management of the Florentine countryside, the garden reflects the tradition of utilitarian and ornamental estate gardening that flourished under Lorraine and Savoy patronage in Tuscany. It sits within the broader landscape of Florence’s historic green belt, which includes the Boboli Gardens, the Cascine, and the villa gardens of the surrounding hills.

At a glance

Type: Historic estate garden associated with royal stables
Period: 18th–19th century; Lorraine and Savoy periods
Style: Italian formal and landscape garden traditions
Location: Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Coordinates: 43.7598° N, 11.2444° E

Overview

The Garden of the Royal Stables is a historic garden in Florence linked to the equestrian facilities maintained by successive rulers of Tuscany. Its grounds were managed as part of the broader royal estate system under the House of Lorraine, which governed Tuscany from 1737, and later under the Savoy monarchy after Italian unification. The garden represents a lesser-known facet of Florence’s rich horticultural heritage, distinct from the more celebrated Boboli and Bardini gardens but sharing their aristocratic origins.

History

Royal and grand ducal stables were an essential component of early modern court life in Florence, requiring not only buildings for horses and carriages but adjacent gardens and paddocks for exercise and forage. The Lorraine grand dukes reorganised much of the Florentine countryside in the 18th century, and the gardens associated with their stables reflected both functional and representational needs. After Italian unification in 1861, the Savoy royal family inherited these properties and the gardens continued under state management until the end of the monarchy in 1946, when they passed into public or municipal hands.

What you see

The garden retains historic features typical of Italian estate gardens of the Lorraine and Savoy periods, including structured planting areas, allées, and elements designed to complement adjacent stable buildings. The surrounding Florentine landscape provides a backdrop of hills, cypresses, and the characteristic Tuscan countryside. Architectural remnants of the stables complex may survive in the immediate vicinity, offering evidence of the original equestrian function of the estate.

Cultural significance

The Garden of the Royal Stables contributes to understanding Florence’s green heritage beyond its most famous monuments, illustrating how successive ruling dynasties shaped the city’s outskirts through practical and ceremonial landscape design. It forms part of the wider network of historic gardens that earned the Florentine hills recognition as a landscape of international cultural value.

Practical information

Address: Florence, Tuscany, Italy (near Cascine area)
Access: Check official website for current opening status and visiting arrangements
Website: Comune di Firenze — Parks and Gardens

Getting there

From Florence city centre, the Cascine area and its surroundings are reachable by tram (line T1 toward Villa Costanza, alighting at Cascine) or by bicycle along the Arno riverside path. Several bus lines also connect Piazza della Repubblica and Santa Maria Novella station to the Cascine park.

Sources & resources

Find it on the map

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Historical events at this place (1)

2021 OmoGirando la collina di Bellosguardo

The complex of the Fabbrica delle Scuderie Reali, was built in the period of Florence capital, between 1866 and 1869, in relation to the need for the court to have larger stables than those existing in the city, able to accommodate horses and neighborhoods of service personnel. It constitutes the large green area between the Boboli Gardens, Via della Pace and del Mascherino, Viale Machiavelli and Porta Romana, inside which there are the buildings of the Scuderie, currently home to the Art Institute, and the Pagliere, intended for the Museum of Figurative Arts of the twentieth century.



There are also the minor buildings of the former Horse Infirmary and Mascalcia, currently for residential use for the staff of this administration.The original layout of the Stables was quite faithful to the current one, with a roundabout at the entrance to the riding hall, to the covered riding school , consisting of two symmetrical wings organized around two courtyards, as well as the porter&#39;s quarters, the cabinets for the week-long stablemasters and the stable guard and the cabinet of His Majesty. The Horsewoman of the garden of the Royal Stables, Florence.



The area in front of the Stables, the so-called Cavallerizza, was closely related to the building, an integral part of the arrangement of the surrounding garden. The original connection between the Cavallerizza and the upper floor of the Pagliere is still legible, along the embankment, through a path presumably used for the wagons used to transport hay and also Cadastral Geometric Plan of viale dei Colli, designed by Giuseppe Poggi, 1868 , the area of ??the Royal Stables, Arch. Drawings SBAPSAE FI, PT, PO indicated by the presence of the side gate, on the right of the access to the building from the avenue.



Once the court was transferred to Rome, the stables lost their original function and remained unused for a long time, until, in 1919, the main body, consisting of the former riding school, was assigned to the Royal Institute of Art, because the his impressive collection of plaster casts taken from ancient models was placed in the room that had been the king&#39;s gallop.



The area is subject to a restriction by Ministerial Decree November 5, 1951: &quot;Declaration of notable public interest of the territory of the hills south of the city of Florence and east of the Via Senese located within the municipality of Florence.&quot; Which reads &quot;... acknowledged that the aforementioned locality as a whole constitutes a fundamental and characteristic element of the local landscape &quot;.

https://culturalheritageonline.com/places/garden-of-the-royal-stables-l4297/

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