Parco delle Cascine
43°46′55.44″N 11°13′5.41″E / 43.7820667°N 11.2181694°E
The Parco delle Cascine (Cascine Park) is a monumental and historical park in the city of Florence. The park covers an area of 160 hectares (395 acres). It has the shape of a long and narrow stripe, on the north bank of the Arno river. It extends from the centre of Florence until the point where the Mugnone flows into the Arno.
History
The building of the Park began in 1563, under the rule of
In the 18th century, with the Grand Duchy transferring to the Habsburg-Lorraines, the park gradually acquired a recreative function in the urban system, conserved until the present days. However, until the beginning of the 19th century, the park remained usually closed to the public, with the exception of some particular events.
The Grand Duke
In 1809–1811, the new Grand Duchess, Elisa Bonaparte, converted the farm into a public park. The park was acquired by the Municipality of Florence in 1869, which committed the renovation of the park to the architect Felice Francolini. Sport clubs which regularly competed in the Quercione meadow were: Florence Football Club, Itala Foot Ball Club, Juventus Foot-Ball Club, Firenze FBC, Club Sportivo Firenze and PGF Libertas. However, in 1917 the
municipality decided to forbid to any sport club to play football in the park.
The last relevant monument built in the Cascine Park was the
The amphitheatre was named in March 2015 after a well-known son of Florence,
Description
A number of meadows of different extension, sometimes limited by wooded areas, are situated in the park: their names are Tinaia, del Quercione, delle Cornacchie. Other smaller meadows are situated within gardens or squares. Wooded areas cover more than 35 hectares. The total number of trees situated in the park is about 19.000.
The secular human presence radically modified flora, reducing its natural self-renovation.
Centuries-old
The strength and luxuriance of plants show the fecundity of soil and the presence of a good water reserve, communicating with the Arno bed. Long hedges, selected to resist to dryness and to shady positions, are present everywhere in the park (their overall length is about 30 km).
The central part of the park is characterised by a monumental complex, situated in Piazzale delle Cascine, dominated by the Palazzina Reale, and its bordering areas, including Piazzale Kennedy with its circular fountain.
The Piazza Vittorio Veneto, with the
The park hosts a number of civil and sport infrastructures, such as
, a public swimming pool, the School of Air War, a visiting centre, police offices, the Faculty of Agronomy, and a public school.Since 2010 the Line T1 of the
Enhancing interventions
A visiting centre for the park opened in August 2013, in the old stable building, Piazzale delle Cascine, to offer visitor cultural, natural and historical information about the Park.[5] In the framework of a broader enhancing interventions plan, a number of other structural interventions are being carried out by the municipality, in order to improve usability conditions for the area.[6] Part of the 2013 cycling UCI road world Championship will take place inside the park.[7]
References
- ^ "Parco delle Cascine | Ambiente".
- ^ West Wind poem by Percy Shelley
- Independent.co.uk. 14 December 2013. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-05-25.
- ^ "Un anfiteatro per Ernesto De Pascale". La Nazione. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ http://www.comune.firenze.it/opencms/export/sites/retecivica/materiali/dir_ambiente/ex_scuderie.pdf[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Masterplan delle Cascine". Archived from the original on 2013-08-11. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-23. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
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