SACI's formal, Italian garden provides a pleasant atmosphere and a quiet place for students to sit and enjoy the Italian sunshine in the midst of a wide variety of plants and flowers.  Students often work, eat their lunch, or use their laptop computers in the garden to connect to the internet with SACI's wireless access. During the summer, welcome parties and concerts are held in the garden.

In 2001, SACI launched a sculpture competition, asking local artists to submit design proposals for a sculpture to be placed in the fountain in SACI's garden. The competition was won by Sergio Traquandi, who has been extensively involved in the arts since 1968, when he became an active member of the  ARCICODA art cooperative of San Giovanni Valdarno. Traquandi's winning entry, Cubo Cavo di Leonardo, is based on a drawing Leonardo da Vinci made to illustrate a mathematical example of geometric forms from his Codice Atlantico f. 263.r.

Board of Trustees Emeritus Jonna Lazarus contributed to the design of the garden.