On the Florentine hills and very close to the Mugello valley, there is one of the biggest parks in Tuscany, an Unesco World Heritage site from 2013. This park, called Parco Mediceo Pratolini was built according to the will of Francesco I from the Medici’s family, who wanted to design a fairy-tale place to conquer the heart of his future wife, Bianca Cappello. Later, in 1872, the entire park was sold to the Russian Prince Paolo II Demidoff, who restored the buildings within the property and created the magnificent Villa Demidoff. Finally, after a century, in 1981, the Florence Province Council bought the property to turn it into a public park. Even though today it is hard to find what remains of that Villa, one of its main monuments can still be visited and, according to many, is one of the most amazing and most forgotten pieces of art that can be found in Italy.
Although not so many tourists know that, indeed, this park has something magical. Its visitors can admire a gigantic guardian of the Villa, now called the Colosso dell’Appennino, or the Appennine Colossus, created in 1580 by the Flemish sculptor Jean de Boulogne, known also by the name of Giambologna
Surrounded by beautiful bronze statues now gone lost, this massive brick and stone structure managed to maintain its figurative composition over more than five centuries, and it is still considered one of the best artistic representation of the connection between nature and man. Half man, half mountain, this statue is high more than 10 meters, and its structure is more fascinating that what you can imagine. Indeed, inside the statue there are different grottoes decorated with frescoes and beautiful geometric decorations. One of them was designed to host a chimney. Once that was on, the smoke would have escaped the cracks corresponding to the giant’s nostrils and would have made the statue even more impressive.
A famous old saying claims that Giambologna made the Appennine but he regretted having made it in that place. Imagine, indeed, how much that statue would have become famous if it had been in the centre of Florence. In addition to this statue, the park is also home to the Cupid’s Grotto by Buontaltenti and the Fountain of Mugnone with another Giambologna’s statue.
If you want to visit the park, you should know that it is open from April to October. If you have a car, from Piazza della Libertà you can follow signs to “Ponterosso – Via Bolognese” and head uphill. The SS65 road called Via Bolognese will lead you out of Florence and in less than 30 minutes from Florence’s city centre you will arrive in Pratolino. In Pratolino, park your car in the parking lot on the left: the entrance to the park is right across the road. It is also possible to get to Pratolino by bus: take the ATAF bus number 25A (this is different from the normal bus number 25) from Piazza San Marco in Florence. The bus stop is a little beyond the park entrance but in 5 minutes you will reach the entrance.
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