Il Giardino dei Tarocchi, Capalbio

Our stop this afternoon was at Il Giardino dei Tarocchi, The Tarot Garden. It is a sculpture garden based on the esoteric tarot, created by the French artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) in the countryside of Pescia Fiorentina, Capalbio. The park was opened to the public in 1998.

Niki, inspired by Gaudí´s Parc Güell in Barcelona, and Parco dei Mostri in Bomarzo, decided to make something similar in design for her monumental sculpture park based on the Tarot. In 1979, she acquired some land on top of an Etruscan ruin and built the park, containing twenty-two monumental figures representing her idea of the greater Mysteries of the tarot. They are constructed of reinforced concrete and covered with mirrors and ceramic mosaic. The figures can be walked through, and on, and every surface is different.

Niki even lived inside the sphinx-like Empress for several months during the construction of the garden, the inside of which is covered with mosaic mirrors - it would not have been a calm place to live in. I did however, get a giggle that the windows were the boobs. Niki’s sculptures seemed to focus on big breasted women and they are portrayed in a humorous way.

She had a very interesting life and I thoroughly enjoyed being able to experience some her amazing and quirky works of art. #livelifeincolour

What surprised me most about this place was the location as we were in the middle of nowhere with no major towns anywhere nearby. And yet it was surprisingly busy. I'm just glad we managed to find it as I loved this place.Read more