The city of Florence has played an integral role in the course of human history. The city rose to particular importance during the late middle ages and is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. Some of the greatest works of art, architecture, literature and philosophy have emerged from Florence during this time. Florence is bisected by one of Italy's two most important rivers, the Arno. Located across the River from the historic center of Florence, are the famous Boboli Gardens. The Gardens, themselves are located behind the Pitti Palace, which has housed some of the most powerful rulers in Italy including several generations of the Medici family who ruled Italy during this time. Originally, the Boboli Gardens extended from the back of Pitti Palace to the eastern border of Forte Belvedere and the city walls of Porta Romana to the south. The Palace was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi around 1440 for the wealthy merchant, Luca Pitti. A little over a century later, the property was purchased by the Medici family. In 1549, Cosimo I de'Medici, and his wife Eleonora di Toledo hired famous mannerist architect and sculptor, Tribolo (1500-1550) to transform the hillside behind the palace into a formal garden. After the untimely death of Tribolo in 1550, a number of architects and designers (Davide Fortini, Giorgio Vasari, Bartolomeo Ammannati, and Bernardo Buontalenti) worked on the gardens, with attempts to respect the original concept of formality, symmetry, and elegance. The most influential decision by the Medici dynasty involved increasing the size of the Gardens, bringing them to their current dimensions, approximately 111 acres (45 hectares).
The Boboli garden consists of two main axis, the 16th century axis that starts at the center of the palace and crosses the amphitheater and goes on to the statue of Abundance at the top of the hill, and the 17th century axis that runs perpendicular to the first axis and aligned with cypress and laurel...