Hesperidarium, Giardino degli Agrumi (Oscar Tintori)

The Hesperidarium is the work of the Tintori family, flower growers for generations at Castellare di Pescia, in the Valdinievole, and now producers of ornamental citrus exported worldwide. According to the Italian botanical-heritage portal, the nursery holds more than 200 citrus varieties. A British visitor who toured it in October 2004 recounts that Oscar Tintori's interest in citrus began when he bought a house whose walls carried espaliered lemon trees; one of them still survives.

The garden opened to the public in 2004, a year inferred from the date of a British visit page of 14 October 2004. That page describes the display as Europe's first permanent exhibition devoted solely to citrus, in a new 2,000 m² glasshouse, and ties it by theme to nearby Collodi, the village of Pinocchio; this "first" is the author's claim and is not checked here. A regional tourist guide places the firm's work in the Tuscan tradition of potted citrus, which aristocratic families once sheltered in winter in limonaie, masonry greenhouses. Today the greenhouse also serves as a setting for guided visits, tastings and private events.

The garden occupies a single-volume greenhouse of 2,000 m², which the official site calls a "large covered greenhouse" and presents as visitable in any weather. A British visitor described it in October 2004 as a new glasshouse. The entrance is a glazed pavilion with a rounded plan, which the description of a Wikimedia Commons photograph calls a "glass entrance". Inside, photographs show a light metal frame under a multi-span covering of transparent panels, lined with shading screens; no written source names the material of these panels.

The route winds between paths, plant tunnels and fountains; the citrus grow in the ground and in traditional terracotta pots. According to the 2004 visitor, winter minimum temperatures usually stand around 5 to 8 °C, so extra heating is rarely needed.

The garden brings together more than 200 citrus varieties: old cultivars tied to the Medici in the 16th century, rare varieties from the East and recent selections from the southern hemisphere. The interactive plan on the official site points out nine varieties, among them Citrus limon 'Mellarosa', Citrus medica 'Digitata' (the fingered citron), Citrus aurantium 'Corniculata', Citrus limon 'Ponzino Amalphitanum' and Citrus clementina 'Rubino', as well as several variegated-leaf forms. Giant fruits, horned or fingered shapes and scents from the East are among the announced curiosities; a regional guide also mentions the "Buddha's hand" and the finger lime.

Figures and statues inspired by Pinocchio line the paths. Next door, the Oscar Tintori nursery, which holds more than 200 varieties according to the botanical-heritage portal, sells potted citrus; in 2004 two other large sales greenhouses were noted.

The garden lies on via del Tiro a Segno at Castellare di Pescia; its Pinocchio theme ties it to Collodi, the literary home of Pinocchio. The greenhouse covers the whole route, which can be walked in any weather, a plus in the winter months, and access is described as suitable for disabled visitors. The site offers guided visits for groups (1 to 1.5 hours) with a company expert, tastings of citrus products and, in the greenhouse, meals and receptions. The garden adjoins the nursery, where visitors can see production and buy potted citrus.