Renovation is underway at Villa il Ventaglio park, in the upper Le Cure neighbourhood in Florence.
Due to a lack of funds, most of the five-hectare park has been closed to the public since July 2014, with only about one-fifth remaining open. The whole park is set to be reopened by late spring, allowing visitors to enjoy its lawns, small lake and varied horticulture.
In the fifteenth century the area was the site of an inn that offered refreshment to pilgrims on their way from Porta a Pinti to the convent of San Domenico in Fiesole. The property changed hands repeatedly until it was purchased in the mid-nineteenth century by the Milanese count Giuseppe Archinto, who, with the architect Giuseppe Poggi, oversaw its transformation into a neoclassical villa. He also employed the gardener and botanist Attilio Pucci to turn the surrounding land into a garden according to the English romantic model.
The programme is funded by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze through the Art Bonus initiative, whereby Italian companies receive a tax break of 65 percent for donations to cultural activities. The work is scheduled to begin in May and will last around a year.
Entrance is free from via Aldini 10/12. The park is open every day except Monday and, in July and August, Thursday.
