In the late 16th century, the gardens of Villa Medici, transformed under Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici, were organized around the celebrated system of the Carrés (historically known as I Quadrati): sixteen orthogonal compartments structured within a rigorous geometric plan. While the perimeter avenues expressed the language of Medici magnificence, the interior of each Carré supported a highly productive agricultural regime. Archival descriptions confirm the cultivation of vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees; plants valued not only for their rarity and beauty but also as instruments of political identity and territorial order. The Medici treated horticulture as both aesthetic display and economic infrastructure.
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