Hotel Barberino del Mugello - Tuscany holidays - Mugello what to see

Spring in Tuscany explodes in all its wonder, bursting impetuously into the icy winter blanket. Mantles of soft grass cover the hills, bushes and foliage dress countless nuances, the aromatic notes of the vineyards unfold at the first, reassuring warmth.

Spring inaugurates the rebirth of nature, the awakening of the undergrowth and the triumph of flowering plants. A magnificent spectacle, which is renewed every year in the immense park of Monsignor della Casa, a few kilometers from Florence.

Our blooming buds

Our Country Resort is surrounded by 50,000 square meters of greenery: an authentic Eden populated by prolific olive trees, elegant cypresses, pomegranates and precious aromatic plants, such as lavender, mint, basil, thyme, sage and rosemary. Walking in our park is an immersion in pleasant scents, especially in spring. In this period of the year, in fact, the real treasures of the resort blossom: a variegated mosaic of blooming corollas, where tulips, daisies, hyacinths and multi-colored bluebells stand out.

Among the flowers of the estate, the undisputed queen of the most beautiful gardens deserves a special place. Here the rose reveals itself in stunning varieties: botanical roses, old roses and red climbing roses. Next to these splendid specimens, in spring the park of Monsignor della Casa is dotted with many irises, with delicate snowy or purple petals, which immerse the entire resort in a fairy atmosphere.

The flower symbol of Florence

The extensive presence of irises all around brings us back to the ancient Florentine origins and the grandeur of this part of Tuscany. The flower was in fact painted, since the Middle Ages, on the coat of arms of the city of Florence. The Florentine lily, in fact, does not represent a real lily, but rather an iris or “giaggiolo”, typical of the Tuscan countryside.

The city coat of arms boasts a genesis steeped in legends: according to some, the choice of the flower dates back to the foundation of the Roman colony Florentia during the celebration of the goddess Flora, during the flowering period of the lilies. Other historians believe that the symbol is linked to the value of purity and to the cult of the Virgin Mary, emblem of chastity. Another hypothesis includes a Roman praetor named Fiorino, who died during the siege of Fiesole.

Whatever the true story of the illustrious coat of arms, this became the emblem of the Florentines already during the first crusade. The characterizing colors, however, were reversed until the mid-thirteenth century, in full civil war between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Originally, in fact, the white lily stood out against the red background. When the Ghibellines were defeated and exiled from Florence, in 1251, they continued to wear the city coat of arms, therefore the Guelph gonfalonier decided to invert the chromatic tones, to definitively distinguish himself from the enemies. From that moment on, the lily of Florence has red color on a white field.