Courtyard in Pisa.
Most of the churches and public buildings we visited in Italy had large courtyards. Some had fountains or wishing wells, many had containers and flowers, a few had tress, but some just had grass. It seems that many were designed to be as low maintenance as possible, and I wondered if they originally contained vegetable gardens or more ornate plantings. Here are photos of the ones I liked best.
Courtyard roses in Florence. I like how the grass is growing between the stones.
Same courtyard, from the other direction. Calla lilies and lemon trees.
When the gates of this garden opened unexpectedly, we were tempted to run inside.
Courtyard at the Basilica of Santa Croce. I can’t help but feel that they could be doing more with this space…
This one, in Pisa, was one of my favorites. The containers and plants are all very well maintained and artistically positioned. I like the brickwork as well.
Same garden as in the picture above, but from a different angle. Behind the wall is the tower of Pisa which detracts attention from this garden.
kalegrower 
Lovely photos! Yes, they look like they are low maintenance now — but I wonder how hard it is to grow grass in some of those places… they had to haul a lot of dirt (one barrel at a time, no doubt) from who knows where…
Very peaceful places… as a lovely garden is.
Thanks for sharing…