Beyond the Leges Hortorum: Gardens in the Urban Landscape of Early Modern Florence

If the study of garden history, as traditionally conceived, requires a justification, a pertinent line of inquiry lies in the explication of the diverse roles that gardens played in the context of the early modern city. This discussion, however, is hindered by the anachronistic opposition between utility and pleasure, in addition to pervasive paradisiacal and pastoral associations that perpetuate a distinctly elitist image of these amenities. This article, using the example of sixteenth- through eighteenth-century Florence, challenges such assumptions by interpreting the network of recreational and productive properties within the city as an informal green infrastructure, reintegrating their narratives into the broader history of public space. By revaluating the social and economic meanings of gardens through the dual lenses of their accessibility and their productive use, this analysis shows specific ways in which they defined the urban landscape of early modern Italy, while also suggesting how they may have been experienced by nonelite visitors.