An explosion of exuberant colours and heady scents that are hard to resist. Spring announces itself amidst green oases and blooming meadows where you can witness the rebirth of nature after the long winter hibernation.
An escape, therefore, toItaly 's most beautiful gardens is ideal for admiring spring blossom.
Commissioned by nobles and cardinals, inhabited by empresses and princesses, frequented by artists and intellectuals, the gardens of villas, palaces and islands are treasure troves of art, nature and beauty. Here are the 10 most beautiful gardens in Italy to see in spring.
The Garden of Ninfa, Cisterna di Latina - Lazio ![Giardino di Ninfa](/photo-data/photos/art/28/2823/2823752.JPEG")
In Roman times, next to the waters gushing from the Lepini mountains, a small temple was built dedicated to the Nymphs, divinities of the woods and waters: the river that runs through Ninfa, once a flourishing medieval town located on the only road leading from Rome to the south, was named after them.
From the 11th century Ninfa assumed the role of a city and was ruled by various noble families. Then in 1298 Benedetto Caetani, known as Pope Boniface VIII, purchased Ninfa and other neighbouring territories for his nephew Pietro II Caetani.
The pontiff's family then began restoring the first buildings, digging the river bed, planting trees, and starting the garden that grew under the care of three women:
Ada Bootle Wilbraham, English, her sister-in-law Marguerite Chapin, American, and her niece Lelia. In 1977, with Lelia's death, the Roffredo Caetani Foundation was entrusted with the task of perpetuating the beauty of this place.
Today, the Garden of Ninfa is considered one of the most beautiful English gardens in Italy. Strolling among blossoming cherry and ornamental apple trees, deciduous magnolias, birches, marsh irises and a sensational variety of Japanese maples is one of the most romantic experiences to be had in spring.
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Villa Lante, Bagnaia - Lazio 
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A few kilometres from Viterbo stands a wonderful Italian mannerist garden.
Villa Lante della Rovere in Bagnaia is one of the most significant realisations of 16th-century Italy and boasts a splendid park, commissioned by Cardinal Gianfrancesco Gambara and designed by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola.
The garden is a path of fountains, waterfalls, hedges, niches and water features designed according to the canons of balance and harmony of the time. Secret gardens and labyrinths, therefore, follow one another in a garden where a taste for play and a sense of surprise prevail.
But the predominant element of the park is the water flowing from the numerous fountains, arranged along five tiers of overlapping terraces.
Among the many fountains, the Fontana del Quadrato, surmounted by a sculptural group attributed to Taddeo Landini, the Fontana dei Lumini, consisting of 70 jets of water spurting out of small cups, and the Fontana della Tavola or Mensa del Cardinale, where Cardinal Gambara used to hold his summer banquets, are all striking.
One of the most curious buildings in the park is certainly the 'ice house', a cylindrical construction built at the beginning of the 17th century, buried almost 10 metres underground, which in winter was filled with snow to keep cool the drinks and ice creams that Cardinal Alessandro Damasceni Peretti-Montalto, nephew of Pope Sixtus V, was apparently fond of, and which completed the Villa Lante project undertaken by Gambara.
The Sissi Gardens, Merano - Trentino-Alto Adige 
Imagine walking among 300,000 flowers such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, once also admired by Empress Sissi. In fact, the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle in Merano were renamed the Sissi Gardens in homage to the Empress of Austria, who chose Trauttmansdorff Castle as her winter residence.
But from the mid-19th century onwards other illustrious tourists also came from all over Europe for a wellness break in the spa town of Merano, known for its mild climate and Mediterranean vegetation. Stretching over an area of 12 hectares, the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle bring together in a natural amphitheatre exotic and Mediterranean landscapes, breathtaking views of the surrounding mountain scenery and sun-kissed Merano.
Plants from all over the world grow in more than 80 botanical environments. The Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle also fascinate with their enchanting interweaving of nature, culture and art. Here you will find various multi-sensory stations, atmospheric themed gardens, art pavilions and specimens from the animal kingdom.
At the centre of the botanical gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle is the castle itself, where Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife once stayed, and which today houses a restaurant and the Touriseum.
READ ALSO: TULIP BLOSSOM IN ITALY
Sigurtà Garden Park, Valeggio sul Mincio - Veneto 
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A green treasure more than 600 years old that was born from the perfect fusion of a historical park and a modern garden.
The story of the Parco Giardino Sigurtà in Valeggio sul Mincio in fact begins on 14 May 1407, when, during the Venetian domination of Valeggio sul Mincio, the patrician Gerolamo Nicolò Contarini purchased the entire property, which at the time had a purely agricultural function. Near the main house, there was a small, geometric garden dedicated to the idleness of the nobles. This gave rise to the Sigurtà Garden Park.
The gardens were then opened to the public for the first time in 1978, quickly becoming a favourite destination for famous botanists, nature lovers and illustrious guests of the calibre of Alexander Fleming, Selman Waksman, Conrad Lorenz and Albert Sabin, Charles of England, Margareth Thatcher, Luchino Visconti and Indro Montanelli. Winner of numerous awards including that of most beautiful park in Italy in 2013 and second most beautiful park in Europe in 2015, Sigurtà Garden Park enchants visitors with a million tulips, representing the most important flowering in Italy and the richest in southern Europe. The avenue of roses then welcomes 30,000 re-flowering roses from May to September.
Eighteen ponds host aquatic plants between June and July. The 2,500-square-metre labyrinth will then get you lost among 1,500 yew trees. And finally, water gardens, green meadows and scenic walks between the hermitage, the little castle and the medicinal plants will make you forget the world.
Villa Medicea di Castello, Florence - Tuscany 
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The Villa Medicea di Castello in the hills of Florence, also called Villa Reale, is one of the oldest country residences of the Medici family since 1477.
The villa takes its name from the 'castellum' cistern of the ancient Roman aqueduct, which stood here and was a favourite of Cosimo I, who had it restored by Tribolo from 1537.
It was then in this villa that Marsilio Ficino educated the young Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco in the humanist worldview, and it was for this villa that Botticelli painted La Nascita di Venere and La Primavera, later transferred to the Uffizi. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the splendid villa has been the seat of the Accademia della Crusca since 1966 and can therefore only be visited on special occasions.
Instead, the marvellous garden, designed in 1538 at the behest of Cosimo I and defined as the prototype of the 16th-century Italian garden, is open to the public. Note the fountain of Hercules and Antheus, by Tribolo and Pierino da Vinci, crowned by the bronze group by Bartolomeo Ammannati, and the extraordinary Grotto of the Animals or of the Flood, designed by Tribolo himself and originally animated by spectacular water games.
The garden also boasts an exceptional collection of citrus fruits, consisting of around five hundred plants of unique historical-botanical importance, descended from the ancient Medici varieties, together with specimens over three hundred years old.
Lastly, the herb garden is noteworthy, as it houses the rare Indian jasmine from Goa known as 'mugherino', which gives its name to the greenhouse of the so-called 'ortaccio' or Secret Garden.
The Kolymbethra Garden, Agrigento - Sicily 
The Garden of the Kolymbethra is an archaeological and naturalistic jewel in the heart of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. It encompasses the colours, flavours and fragrances of the land of Sicily and tells a 2500 year-old story.
Between the temple of the Dioscuri and the temple of Vulcan, one enters a lush oasis where orange, lemon, olive, almond, myrtle, dwarf palm, pistachio, pomegranate, prickly pear and many other plants with their dense foliage, heady scents and brightly coloured fruits grow.
The origins of the Kolymbethra date back to the 5th century B.C. when Theron, tyrant of Akragas, had the so-called Phaeacian aqueduct built (named after the architect who designed it), which consisted of a vast system of hypogea that captured water from underground aquifers and channelled it into the Kolymbethra valley.
So don't miss a visit to the ancient hypogea before embarking on the botanical trail through the citrus grove, the almond orchard-olive grove and the third area rich in typical Mediterranean plants.
Amidst the scents of orange blossom and the colours of broom, immerse yourself in this place of delight that was one of the essential destinations of the Grand Tour between the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Donnafugata Pantesco Garden, Pantelleria - Sicily 
On the island of dammusi, dry lava stone walls and Zibibbo vineyards lies this marvel of nature and human ingenuity.
The Giardino Pantesco located in the Khamma district of Pantelleria, donated to the FAI by the Donnafugata winery, is a splendid garden whose origins date back to 3,000 B.C., designed both to protect plants from strong winds and to cope with the water shortage that can sometimes lead to 300 uninterrupted days of drought. On the outside, the garden is bordered by a circular, roofless structure with a single narrow opening for access and small secondary openings to allow rainwater to pass through.
Inside you will see a small miracle: a single, centuries-old 'Portugal' orange tree that occupies the entire space and can live and bear fruit, rich in seeds and sugary juice, thanks to an ancient and ingenious self-sufficient agronomic system handed down to us.
In fact, the system utilises the condensation caused by the difference in temperature between day and night and the porosity of the thick lava stone walls, which are inclined inwards to capture water. Thus the garden is an exemplary model of Pantesco's ingenuity, which, in the wake of the Mediterranean tradition of the walled garden, succeeds in reproducing microclimatic conditions capable of satisfying water requirements even in the absence of irrigation.
Villa Durazzo Pallavicini, Genoa - Liguria 
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The Durazzo Pallavicini Park in Pegli, built between 1840 and 1846, designed by architect Michele Canzio, at the behest of Marquis Ignazio Alessandro Pallavicini, represents an excellence in the field of Italian and European historical gardens.
Named after the noblewoman Clelia Durazzo and awarded the title of Italy's most beautiful park in 2017, the garden of the historic aristocratic residence spreads over 8 hectares of hillside and is structured as a theatrical tale with esoteric-Masonic overtones that make the visit a historical-cultural, landscape-botanical but also meditative-philosophical experience.
The visit is divided into a prologue, an antecedent, and three acts, each consisting of four scenes characterised by lakes, streams, waterfalls, rare plants, visual glimpses and scenic tricks capable of appropriating the external panorama and dilating the confines of this magical place almost to infinity.
Amidst groves of camellias, maritime pines and aquatic flowers, you will discover neoclassical and neo-Gothic architecture in an initiation path where wonder and amazement prevail. Wonderful water games conclude this journey in search of truth.
Villa Taranto, Verbania - Piedmont 
Set in the north-western part of the Castagnola promontory on the western shores of Lake Maggiore, the gardens of Villa Taranto are considered among the most beautiful in the world.
The present appearance of the Villa Taranto gardens is the result of the work of Captain Mc Eacharn, which began in 1931. The Scottish captain decided to buy the property from the Marquise of Sant'Elia to transform it into an exemplary English garden, located in a strip of Italy that, although with greater softness and richness of tone, could remind him of his native Scotland.
Mc Eacharn turned the garden into a veritable work of art with thousands of plants and flowers from all over the world, spread over an area of about 160 000 m² with no less than 7 km of paths. Today, this gallery of botanical art includes about 1,000 non-native plants and about 20,000 varieties and species of special value. The gardens are divided into different areas, but make sure you don't miss the terraced gardens with waterfalls, the swimming pool and pools for water lilies and lotus flowers, the 'Winter Garden' and the 'Marsh Garden', the ornamental fountains and water features.
Villa Taranto, named by the captain in memory of one of his ancestors, Marshal McDonald, appointed Duke of Taranto by Napoleon, cannot be visited, as it is the seat of the Prefecture of the Province of Verbano - Cusio - Ossola, but its splendid gardens have been open to the public since 1952.
The garden of Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore - Piedmont 
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Located in Lake Maggiore and belonging to the Borromean Islands group, Isola Bella is only 320 metres long and 180 metres wide, and is largely occupied by the beautiful Italian-style garden of the Borromeo Palace.
The 17th century building, still owned by the Borromeo family, is surrounded by an exemplary Baroque garden.
It was Vitaliano VI Borromeo who started the construction of this park in 1632, conceived as a real vessel in the waters of Lake Maggiore that will stun you with colours, perspectives, water games and white peacocks that live here in freedom.
Note the Teatro Massimo, the most important monument in the Isola Bella garden, as well as the statues, obelisks and fountains perfectly integrated with the vegetation along the ten scenic terraces, at the top of which stands the statue of the unicorn, the heraldic symbol of the Borromeo family.
All around the theatre, a triumph of blooms and rare plants: the centuries-old camphor, the gunnera manicata, whose leaves can reach 2 metres in diameter, the highly perfumed olea fragrans, the extremely rare halesia diptera with its flowers that look like snowflakes, the star anise, the Mexican pine. Also enchanting during the flowering period are the Parterre des Azaleas and the Giardino d'Amore, composed of box hedges that create a green embroidery visible from above the terraces. Camellias, espaliers of roses in May, oleanders in June, and citrus and paniculate hydrangeas in midsummer make Isola Bella's Italian garden explode with scents and colours.
Since 2002, the gardens of Isola Bella, together with those of Isola Madre, have been part of the prestigious English circuit of the Royal Horticultural Society.
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