Friday, July 13, 2012

American Gardens in Florence

La Pietra Estate
An article that includes the gardens at La Pietra, among others, appeared in The Florentine's online edition today.  New York University was the grateful recipient of the La Pietra estate and uses it as its base for the Florence Study Abroad Program.  I attended the second annual program in the summer of 1995, and stayed in one of the "lesser" villas (Villa Natalia) on the property, although now most students rent apartments in the city center.  This grand formal gardens have breathtaking views of Florence, pleasant breezes, and bats zipping around catching bugs at dusk.  You may even run into a family of hedgehogs.