Iris Garden of Italy
Terraced hillside trial garden of thousands of iris varieties, judged yearly for the closest match to Florence's own red.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Florence's Iris Garden follows the Premio Firenze, a flower contest running since 1954 where growers from five continents send iris rhizomes to be judged over three years against one target: the red of Florence's own coat of arms. It traces the garden back to two Florentine women, Flaminia Specht and Nita Stross Radicati, who talked the city into lending them a hillside of old olive terraces below Piazzale Michelangelo, and to architect Giuliano Zetti's 1957 design.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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