Bastione Cavallerizza
Of the six bastions that anchor Grosseto's hexagonal Medici walls, Bastione Cavallerizza is the one that history has handled most roughly — and most recently remade. Stand here at the southern vertex of the walls, beside Porta Vecchia, and you're looking at the only bastion that lost its original arrow-point form, its left ear demolished between 1882 and 1884.
Today it goes by another name too: Giardino delle Sculture, a sculpture garden open to the pedestrian promenade that links it to the neighbouring Bastione Molino a Vento. Three contemporary works — including Moira Ricci's 'Alvaro 13' and Ciro Amos Ferrero's 'Vertigo' — now share the old stonework with new paving, ramps, and carefully replanted green.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who walk the full circuit of the walls tend to pause longest here, where the promenade widens and the sculptures give you a reason to stop rather than stroll past. Coming from Porta Reale, it's the southern anchor of the loop — worth saving for late afternoon when the light drops across the old stone from the west.
The story behind Bastione Cavallerizza
Work on this bastion began in 1567 and was carried through to completion in 1574–1575 under the direction of Simone Genga, to a design by Baldassarre Lanci — the same architect responsible for the broader Medici reconstruction of Grosseto's walls. It was first called Baluardo di Porta Reale, then renamed Baluardo dell'Oriolo after a clock tower on the adjacent gate.
The structure was reinforced in 1733 under governor Cosimo Bagnesi, and again in 1755 by Colonel Odoardo Warren, director-general of Tuscan fortifications. Demilitarized in 1833, it became a public park, with engineer Lamberto Lapi expanding its walkways in 1848. The demolition of its northern spur in the 1880s left it the most-altered bastion of the six. Structural rehabilitation funded through the PNRR programme began in June 2021 and brought the site to its current form as a sculpture garden.
Good to know
The bastion sits directly beside Porta Vecchia on the southern side of the walls, easily reached on foot from Piazza Dante Alighieri. No admission is charged for the promenade. Three accessible ramps make the site reachable without stairs. Spring and early autumn offer the most comfortable conditions for lingering outdoors.
Summers here are hot and dry — temperatures regularly clear 35°C in July and August, so morning visits make sense. Spring (mid-April to early June) and September into early October are the most reliably pleasant seasons for time spent outdoors on the walls.
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What travellers say about Bastione Cavallerizza
Absence of horses. It was originally called the Baluardo di Porta Reale because it was located next to the Porta Reale or Porta Cittadina. It was later changed to the Baluardo dell’Oriolo due to the presence of a clock on the tower. Finally, it was renamed the Cavallerizza bastion due to the presence of a circular arena surrounded by steps, which was renovated during the 20th century and used for shows, meetings, and open-air cinema. Currently, it is the only one of the six bastions that does not retain its original arrowhead shape.
Arenas? A renovation that's far too modern.
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