Yet another secret is coming out of me just to make you fall in love with Florence. I bet you have been to Piazzale Michelangelo already. Well you must have seen a great view of Florence from up there, the Ponte Vecchio, the Cathedral, Palazzo Vecchio, the river Arno and the frontiers of our humble city…everything?…well you forgot a small bit.. yup that’s right, a small bit of Florence which likes to remain hidden to common eye and welcomes those who feel they missed out on something. A something which can make you merry, make your tiredness disappear and get your curiosity back to the peak!
I am taking you to a little walk below Michelangelo square and into a dazzling garden full of the most mysterious species of Irises in the world. Once in the garden there will be 2,500 varieties of Irises keeping you company.
This hidden paradise is taken care of with lots of love and precision. The garden is open for just 18 days, being from the 2nd to the 20th of May. As if they were like the gates of love that embrace us, carving their blessings into the external world, until they disappear deep inside their own thoughts. The history of the Iris flwer rings back to the ancient Greek mythologies where the Greek Goddess Iris was the messenger of the gods and acted as the link between heaven and earth. Iris was the personification of the rainbow.
Even now the Iris flower is known to transmit great feelings when offered to one another depending its variety.
Here in this heavenly abode, all 200 species of Irises are found and thats not it! The flowers have been mixed between one another creating Irises with colors that deserve all the words I have used to define them.
Did you know that the Red Iris is the symbol of Florence?..i guess you do by now..but I can explain you why. The Iris was chosen to be the symbol of Florence in the 12th century, when in those times our city was called Florentia, meaning flower. The Iris was the most commonly grown flower around and thus the red Iris was carved into the flag that proudly represents our city till now.
Hope you enjoyed our little chat about the Iris and hope you do get lucky to see it! Down below are the timings of when you can enter in the lovely Iris gardens. Monday-Friday: 10 to 12,30 and 15 to 19 hrs On weekends 10 to 19 The number to call them is 0039 (0)55 483112
Special thanks to: and discosour