‘grandi giardini italiani’ travels through 147 exquisite gardens in 14 regions of italy

The essence of paradise

Gardens as the fountain of life and the birth of creations, the source of infinite creativity that flows in and out of one’s system, have been revered for decades throughout history, more so nowadays with the constant advent of technology and studies surrounding them.

The way gardens invigorate one’s soul delineates the entrance of ‘Grande Giardini Italiani: The Essence of Paradise’ from the publishing house Franco Maria Ricci (read our full interview with him here), the gift of intellects, essayists, researchers, and guardians of the gardens across Italy to those who seek the wisdom and truth among the most preserved gardens and their heirlooms, from the rarest flora to the easiest ones to identify.

The book comes as a means to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the network Grandi Giardini Italiani, the cultural enterprise founded with the oath to enhance and promote the most beautiful gardens in Italy. It has helped transform the immense richness of nature, history, and art, all touching upon the essence of gardens.

The Grandi Giardini Italiani network encompasses 147 gardens in 14 different regions of Italy, a swing of varieties between exotic and secret, Renaissance and Baroque, and botanical and sacred groves. The book strives to honor them by taking its readers on a journey to finding the green sanctuaries that dot the nation’s land.

images from Franco Maria Ricci

The richness of gardens in bel paese

Thumbing through the first pages of the book, Judith Wade, founder and CEO of Grandi Giardini Italiani, narrates the long and sometimes tortuous road that has led to the realization of the dream of bringing together the owners and curators of the most beautiful gardens in Italy under the same umbrella. Her story takes on people capable of sharing knowledge, enriching the network’s know-how, and helping improve its services for the benefit of the entire sector.

‘I am very happy that this book will see the celebration of Grandi Giardini Italiani’s 25 years. It is also my way of thanking the people I have involved, from owners to curators, from consultants to sponsors, from employees to collaborators,’ writes Wade. ‘This is the story of an enterprise sui generis. It is the story of an adventure to discover people who share the need to pass on to future generations a heritage of inestimable value, one where time and work have been invested. They are the ones who make Grandi Giardini Italiani “great”.’

An essay by writer and journalist Delfina Rattazzi adds to the volume’s richness: a pilgrimage through the astonishing diversity of Italy’s green areas, each a world unto itself and possesses a character only it can tell. Gardens in the book may speak of the wholeness of a botanical passion, such as the magnificent Centro Botanico Moutan in Vitorchiano, which houses over 150 thousand plants and over 6,000 varieties of Chinese peonies.

villa visconti borromeo litta, lainate

An anthology of gardens

Other times, the felicity of nature and the personification of abundance meet, like in the case of Isola Bella, one of the most nursed specimens of Baroque gardens, planted on a hill overlooking Lake Maggiore, brimming with a riot of flowering plants, pools full of water lilies, centuries-old trees, and lawns where white peacocks stroll.

Others, like the Botanical Garden of Palermo, see the result of a voyage and wealth of knowledge. These are only a few of the exquisite Italian gardens described by Delfina Rattazzi, who leaves the readers with a strong urge to visit them in person, to fully appreciate the entirety of their alchemic features and postures.

An anthology curated by the art historian Caterina Napoleone, who through a thorough selection of texts, leads the readers on a literary walk into the gardens featured in the book, the manifestation of the words of the invited writers both in the past and present, from those who have long formed part of history up to the present day.

The texts are accompanied by magnificent full-page images of the enticing vistas, hidden corners, and the most evocative views, allowing anyone who sets their eyes upon the pages to admire this essential part of the living beings’ cultural and natural heritage.

villa d’este in tivoli. image by Alexander Ramsay.