Horti Leonini, Renaissance garden in San Quirico d'Orcia, Italy.

Horti Leonini is a Renaissance garden in San Quirico d'Orcia organized across two distinct zones: a lower section with geometric boxwood patterns and an upper area covered in holm oak woodland. The two zones together create a unified space that weaves together human design and natural growth.

The garden was created around 1581 on land that Francesco I de' Medici had donated to Diomede Leoni, from whom it takes its name. Leoni laid it out without a villa, as a place of rest for travellers near the old pieve of Santa Maria Assunta and the Spedale della Scala. Since 1975 it has belonged to the Comune of San Quirico d'Orcia.

The garden is named after its creator Diomede Leoni and displays Latin inscriptions and a two-faced Janus statue marking the transition between sections. These elements show how Renaissance thinkers represented order and passages in the natural world.

The garden is located in the heart of San Quirico d'Orcia and is easy to reach on foot. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear since the upper woodland section features uneven ground and conditions vary depending on the season.

The Cosimo III de' Medici statue at the centre of the lower parterre was carved by Giuseppe Mazzuoli in 1688 and came to the garden from Palazzo Chigi Zondadari. The sources also record that the parterre's eight-pointed layout has been read as a Maltese cross, its points linked to the eight Beatitudes.