The 5 Best Nature & Parks in Santa Maria Novella, Tuscany

Reviewed By Brun066 - Florence, Italy

In no other important Italian city (with one but very illustrious exception, that of Rome, where the axis of the Via Appia identifies a wedge of undeveloped space reaching the Colosseum from the countryside), as in Florence with the Cascine , that a green area starts close to the historic city and accompanies the visitor up to the space outside the city. Morevover, the original extension of the Cascine estate was even larger, such that it penetrated deeply within the fourteenth century city walls: the estate extended up to the "Ponte alla Carraia", therefore 500 m. far away from Ponte Vecchio. Of course, this condition is possible because the Cascine axis is resistant to urbanization as it is bordered by strong barriers: on the south side the Arno river, on the north one the "Fosso macinante" (literally "grinding stream" existing at least from the 14th century) , and further downstream the Mugnone creek. But even more important was the fact that the entire area - destined, as the name implies, to the breeding of dairy cattle; “Cascine” in Italian means precisely dairies - since the mid-16th century was entirely owned by the Medici Grand Dukes (who also used it as a hunting area), later (1737-1859) by the Lorraine Grand Dukes, both rulers of Tuscany. Land monopoly is often the most effective form of maintaining the rural status of a territory. In later times indeed the insertion of artifacts in the green space (often later becoming fundamental landmarks of the Park) has been slow but constant, already since the end of the 18th century, when in correspondence with the current "Piazzale delle Cascine" - more or less at half the length of the current park - the "Palazzina Real" was built. Perhaps the most macroscopic episode of construction, or in any case of closure of spaces for public use, in contrast with the opening of the Park decreed at the beginning of the nineteenth century, was the establishment of the two racecourses, east of the "Palazzina Reale ": one for the gallop, today "Ippodromo del Visarno", one for the trot, today "Ippodromo delle Mulina", which occupy respectively 233,000 and 99,000 m2. But other episodes are also worth mentioning, such as the foundation in 1882 of the Agricultural High School (behind the "Palazzina Reale"), to which 5 hectares of land for experimentation are also attributed as dowry; and - on the west side of the “Palazzina reale” - the complex of over 13,000 m2 of the “Air War School” of the Italian Air Force, built in the 1930s. It was probably the observation that this continuous erosion of public spaces in the Cascine - albeit for destinations of indisputable usefulness - would have ended up distorting the Park, which in the 1950s led to the absolute ban on new constructions in the Park itself. That decision gave us the current, still very wide and thick expanse of trees. The park is accessible by public transport: the T1 tram line ("Cascine" stop, at the south-east end), and even more the 17C bus line, which terminates in Piazzale delle Cascine. The half of the park running from this last square to the north-west edge is the most lonely and therefore pleasant (of course, during the day: at night this park, like almost everywhere in the world, is frequented by disreputable people). Any path here is completely closed to cars, and this quiet also allows you to spot - say - some squirrels. Spring flowering is amazing here and there. Overall, this park - as well as being a recreational resource of the highest value for citizens - allows you to have a more complete view of the “soul” Florence.