The Gardens of Florence - Il Parco di San Donato a Novoli

San Donato a Novoli, the dream of every urban planner: an area of ​​32 hectares to be structured for public use, in the middle of one of the most densely populated town districts.

Each place has its own history, sometimes very long and interesting. In 1935 - 1939, the largest Italian car industry, FIAT, at the time engaged in the war industry, built a state-of-the-art factory on this land for the construction of combat aircrafts. The area was outside the city, a marshy and unhealthy terrain, continuously flooded by the floods of the Mugnone and Terzolle streams and of the Arno river. A few rare farmhouses and the lonely Church of San Donato in Polverosa, dating back to 1187. Completely unknown to tourists and recently renovated, it is worth visiting. Polverosa (meaning dusty) was the eloquent name of the area.

After the war, the factory was converted to car production and for decades thousands of workers populated the district which has grown at an incredible pace, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. But following the logic of the time: without planning, without green spaces, with the maximum possible population density and absolutely no attention to aesthetics. Until the mid-1980s, when FIAT left and the plant was abandoned.

The area was divided into residential and commercial building lots, a part was occupied by faculties of the University of Florence and the New Palace of Justice, and finally 12 hectares were allotted as public park, the San Donato Park. A decision was made to plant 530 trees of varied species, some characteristic of the territory, others rare or typical of other soils. Mostly ash trees, hornbeams, willows, poplars, magnolias, but also windmill palms, American styraxes, ginko biloba and oaks. When they are all grown up, they will create a very special and interesting atmosphere, but it will take time.

At the center of the park there is a lake, crossed by a pedestrian bridge and inhabited by a happy family of ducks . A small hill planted entirely with cypresses was built with the excavated earth.
On the west side, the panorama is entirely occupied by the colossal New Palace of Justice, a much-discussed futuristic work by the architect Leonardo Ricci. Considered by many to be horrible, by others brilliant, we like it for its audacity and its appearance resembling a cathedral from a distant planet. Perhaps a visit to the park could be interesting more for the views over this very impactful work, rather than for the naturalistic aspect, since the space will remain quite open and bare (and with very few benches) until the trees have grown.

To the south, as an example of industrial archeology, the FIAT Thermic Power Plant remains. A building containing two large brick boilers that produced energy for the entire complex. Lastly, there is the 30-meter tower dominated by a high chimney with red and white stripes, that served as a signal for the nearby airport: it will be renovated and used as an exhibition center, with a panoramic terrace and restaurant. The project for the exterior includes very futuristic interventions, we will see what happens.
Access to the park is from via di Novoli and viale Alessandro Guidoni.