A selection of our favourite Italian gardens
Published 05 May 2020
A selection of some of four of our favourite gardens that feature in our garden tours of Italy.
Here we focus on just four of the stunning gardens we visit in our small group garden tours of Italy. From the ancient and wild gardens of ruined castles near Rome to the manicured gardens of stately homes in Tuscany, our garden tours introduce our clients to a side to Italy that is often overlooked.
Ninfa, Gardens of the Environs of Rome tour
Eerily evocative amongst the ruins of mediaeval Ninfa, a thriving town abandoned after a bloody sacking in 1381, and flanked by the Pontine Marshes and the Lepini Mountains, this natural garden has over 200 species of roses that thrive and tumble over the stone walls of the ruined buildings. The river that flows through the heart of the garden creates a microclimate for silver birch, arum lilies, and ferns. Magnolias and flowering cherries, purple leaf plums, cypress and stone pines create an interesting canopy, and below, valerian, alyssum, erigeron, and aquilegia create a gentle patchwork of soft colour.
Landriana, Gardens of the Environs of Rome tour
Landriana was conceived as a softer and more romantic garden than the classical Italian garden, and has similarities with Sissinghurst or Hidcote. There are thirty-two garden ‘rooms’ evolved by Russell Page including a striking Orange garden and an Olive garden with a cork oak, the yellow, grey, and mauve hues of allium, artemesia, bronze fennel, and sprigs of verbena complementing the shades of the olive trees. There is a romantic white walk, a magnolia garden, an Italian garden, and a jasmine garden where jasmine stands aloft in a lawn of thyme.
Villa Monastero, Lake Como and Lake Maggiore tour
Dating from about 1200, when it was a Cistercian convent, the villa’s gardens were initially developed from the 16th to the 19th centuries. It was in the late 19th and early 20th century that the most striking transformations were made. In addition to a Renaissance loggia and the sculpted group ‘The Clemency of Titus,’ many exotic plants and trees, including palms, yuccas, agaves, and the Magnolia grandiflora were brought here at this time. The gardens are laid out in terraces and avenues between the cliffs behind the lake and the waterfront. Oleanders and wisteria are abundant. Judas trees flower in spring. Cypress trees create form and roses tumble over a pergola.
Villa Torrigiani, Gardens of Tuscany tour
The gardens of Villa Torrigiani combine the earlier Baroque French-style gardens with a grotto, a balustrade double staircase, playful water features, and the 19th century English-style park of lawns and groves of trees. Magnolia, aromatic herbs, blue ageratum, and lemons in pots offer interest throughout the garden. Ilex woods behind the gardens provide shade, and colour can be found throughout the year with tulip trees in May, magnolias in June, and camellias from November to March.
Expressions Holidays’ garden tours in Italy
We operate garden tours of Italy for groups of up to 14 people on each departure. We have tours of Tuscany, the Italian Lakes, the Rome area, the Amalfi Coast with Ischia (including la Mortella), and the Veneto in our programme. Each tour is 6 nights in duration and flights, transport, guided visits, and accommodation in typical Italian Expressions hotels are included.
