Collodi

Beautiful 17th century Villa Garzoni at Collodi, with its enchanting garden, with its scenic flights of steps and garden full of fountains and statues, is one of the jewels of the Tuscan countryside and certainly well worth a visit. William Beckford described it thus: It opened on a sudden to the side of a lofty mountain, covered with tufted groves, amongst which hangs the princely castle of the Garzoni, on the very side of a precipice. The garden lies beneath, gay with flowers, and glittering with compartments of spar, which strikes for the first time with the effect of enchantment. Two large marble basins, with jets-d'eau, seventy feet in height, divide the parterres; from the extremity of which rise a rude cliff, shaded with cedar and ilex and cut into terraces. (...). Above arises a colossal statue of Fame, boldly carved, and in the very act of starting from the precipice. A narrow path leads up to the feet of the goddess, on which I reclined; whilst a vast column of water arching over my head, fell, without even wetting me with its spray, into the depths below. Via del Castello, Collodi (Pescia). For information tel. 0572.429116. Hours: 8-20 (summer) / 9-16.30 (winter).