Le Cascine is Florence’s large riverside park, with a history that reaches back to the Medici agricultural estates. Its name should be left as Le Cascine, rather than translated literally as “the farmhouses.”
From a Medici estate to a public park
According to FeelFlorence, the city’s official tourism website, the original estate was acquired under Duke Alessandro de’ Medici and expanded under Cosimo I. Agricultural use and hunting shaped the early landscape.
The Napoleonic transformation
Elisa Baciocchi transformed Le Cascine into a public park during the Napoleonic period in the early nineteenth century. This change opened a new chapter in the use of the former estate as a place for public recreation.
Planning a walk in Florence
Le Cascine offers a different setting from the dense streets around the Duomo. If you want to combine the park with a guided city walk, check the distance and route before booking: a historic-centre tour does not necessarily include the park.
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