Villa Garzoni and its Garden in Collodi
The historic complex linked to Collodi’s name, amid baroque architecture, water features and pathways through greenery
The Garzoni Villa and Garden are located in Collodi, in the municipality of Pescia, a a place closely associated with the figure of Carlo Lorenzini. Indeed, it was here that the writer’s father worked as a gardener, having spent part of his childhood in the town and even taking from it the name by which he would later become famous: Collodi.
The Villa, also called the Hundred Windows, has ancient origins.
Established as the residence of the noble Garzoni family, it was enlarged from the 17ᵗʰ century onward, when the building took on a more monumental layout.
The complex achieved an increasingly spectacular form over time, until the intervention of the Lucchese architect Ottaviano Diodati, to whom we also owe the summer Palazzina and the system of water features that still characterize the garden today.
It is especially the historic Garzoni Garden that makes this place so fascinating. Majestic and lush, it has the showiness typical of the Baroque, with monumental staircases, statues, labyrinths, baths, fountains and a hydraulic system that largely retraces that of the 18ᵗʰ century.
The garden is a kind of outdoor theater with a scenic layout in which greenery dialogs with water, architecture and a dense symbolic narrative entrusted to the mythological and allegorical statues scattered along the pathway.
Some of the most striking corners include the Water Staircase, the Labyrinth, the Verzura Theater, the Viale dei Poveri and the unique Bathing Pavilion, designed as a secluded space dedicated to the pleasure of water and keeping cool.
Climbing upward, the vertical design of the garden draws the eye up to the Statue of Pheme, set at the apex of the complex, from which rises a jet of water that accentuates even more the spectacular character of the entire place.
In keeping with an ancient tradition, the Labyrinth is particularly beloved by lovers. Strolling through this area together is said to bring good luck and ensure lasting love.
And it is also this, together with the wealth of sights, symbols and details hidden in the greenery, that makes a visit to the Garzoni Garden an experience as evocative as it is memorable.
The villa is not open to the public but continues to serve as a scenic backdrop to the historic garden and is part of the Collodi Pinocchio Multi-Centre Park.
For information on accessibility, visit regione.toscana.it.
