TOIn the name of art, the beauty of the landscape, the benefits that plants bring to our health, the Grandi Giardini Italiani network is enriched with these five gems, which iO Donna tells you about here.
The garden reborn after the earthquake
Borgo Seghetti Panichi, Castel di Lama (Ap). seghettipanichi.it
Ten years after the earthquake which led to the closure and a decade of restoration, Borgo Seghetti Panichi has finally been reborn. From April, the villa with six bedrooms and the apartments near the swimming pool will once again host those who want to treat themselves to a stay.
Borgo Seghetti Panichi in Ascoli Piceno. It has a historical and bioenergy park. ph Dario Fusaro
This enchanted place, between Ascoli and San Benedetto del Tronto, has a seven-hectare parkinside which there is a romantic garden that surrounds the historic residence. It was designed in 1890 by the famous Ludwig Winter, a German botanist who moved to Bordighera and landscape architect who created famous gardens in Liguria and the French Riviera. «The Seghetti brothers had bought the property at the beginning of the nineteenth century to turn it into an agricultural company» says Stefania Pignatelli Gladstone, owner of Borgo Seghetti Panichi and their descendant. «On the estate there was a noble villa, commissioned by Monsignor Odoardi, an art collector, built on a previous small village. The Seghettis were not interested in moving: they already had a building in Ascoli. The next generation had the idea of a garden dedicated to “otium,” which conferred status. And they call Winter.”
Created in 1870, Borgo Seghetti Panichi collects numerous botanical species. ph Dario Fusaroa
Thus, in this land bordering the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for centuries, the botanist studies the local microclimate and discovers that even his beloved palm trees can resist. In the garden we find Washingtonia filifera, the Mexican blue palm Brahea armata, Jubaea spectabilis originally from Chile. There is also a collection of bulbs with white and purple Agapanthus, peonies, irises, roses, amaryllis. To the east, a citrus grove has been created in a long, narrow area, overlooking an olive grove. To the west, the ancient nuns’ garden has been restored – there was a convent in the thirteenth century – and there are also an arboretum and an orchard. The real surprise is the bioenergy park, based on the magnetic fields emitted by plants, which have a beneficial effect on the body and mind.
«The latest recent findings have confirmed the presence of 30 active areas, with energy generated by groups of plants» adds Pignatelli. «I would like to point out two in particular: one near the pond with palm trees, where there is a pendulous Prunus japonica, and another near three Washingtonia». The founders of the historic garden, redeveloped with an intervention financed by the Pnrr, had a long view.
Not to be missed. Winter’s signature, created from three Washingtonia filifera palms. The pond created by the German, with the Japanese bridge and a Venus.
The charm of the Sienese landscape
Castiglion del Bosco, Montalcino (Si). Rosewoodhotels.com/it/castiglion-del-bosco
An estate of around two thousand hectares, overlooking two sides: on one side the Val d’Orcia with Monte Amiata and on the other Siena and Buonconvento. It is a corner of Tuscany covered with forests of native trees, but also with organic vineyards and an area reserved for golf and gardens. Castiglion del Bosco is a widespread hotel, made up of 11 villas with private gardens and a five-star hotel, surrounded by nature. The best way to experience the beauty of the place, if you can’t stay for a night, is to try one of the two restaurants or book a wine tour. With the occasion, it is possible to see the gardens, designed by landscape architect Marco Battaggia.
Castiglion del Bosco Villa Gauggiole at dawn ©Property Archive
The cypress avenue is spectacular, as is the garden near the village swimming poolwith ornamental grasses such as Muhlenbergia, then Miscanthus, Abelia grandiflora, Perovskia or Siberian sage with blue-purple flowers. Also spectacular is the amphitheater created with box hedges of different heights, in a courtyard of the old castle. «The philosophy of the gardens is not to create a dichotomy with the woodland environment and the agricultural landscape» explains the designer. Don’t be surprised if you find fenced off areas, like the garden with herbs and vegetables used by the chefs. Or the rose garden. «Near Castiglion del Bosco lives a community of deer who, when they manage to enter, cause damage» explains Barraggia. It’s the beauty of being in nature: ungulates are greedy, they even eat irises and rosebuds. «Over time, I have selected plants that are not to their taste, such as rosemary, oleander, boxwood» says Battaggia.
Not to be missed. The rose garden near the rectory and the frescoed church was designed with a progression of colors from white to red and shades of pink. There are the Wanda Ferragamo rose and other varieties linked to Tuscany.
Among the citrus fruits on Lake Garda
Limonaia del Castèl, Limone sulGarda (Bs). visitlimonesulgarda.com
At the foot of Mughera, the mountain that overlooks Limone sul Garda, an extraordinary garden is perched on it. It is an ancient lemon house, divided into seven cole, or floors. There are around a hundred citrus fruits and they have their roots in the terraces, supported by dry stone walls.
The Limonaia del Castèl in Limone sul Garda, between history and perfumes. ©Property Archive
In the eighteenth century, Limone was the northernmost place in Europe where citrus fruits were grown for the Northern European markets. With the unification of Italy and the birth of the railways, the fruits of the South became more convenient and production on Garda began an inexorable decline. «In Limone there were at least five large lemon groves» explains Matteo Segala, city councilor for Innovation. «One was that of Castèl, which belonged over time to various families, generally wealthy or noble. The large stone and lime poles were the structures that supported the glass and wooden scaffolding, that the farmers put in during the winter to protect the plants from frost, creating greenhouses.”
Today, higher temperatures allow citrus fruits to survive outdoors. «In 1995 the Limonaia del Castèl was bought by the Municipality which renovated it and made it safe, planting new trees, with the aim of creating a museum on the traditional cultivation of lemon» adds Segala. «Now visitors can walk near mandarins, kumquats, grapefruits, bitter and sweet oranges, chinotti, calamondins, as well as cedars and lemons». A living botanical library, with 13 stations with QR code and audio guides.
The view of the lake from the Limonaia del Castel ©Property Archive
Not to be missed. The view of the village and the lake. The plant that has half the foliage of a bitter orange and half of a lemon, a hybrid created naturally in a very cold year. Also interesting is the Casèl (a service building) where a museum on citrus fruits and period tools has been created. For example, the grumiàl, a leather sack that was tied at the waist for harvesting.
An original oasis of peace and relaxation
Florence Trevelyan Park, Taormina (Me). traveltaormina.com/it/monumenti/villa-comunale-taormina
In the heart of Taormina, there is a place born from the dream of an English noblewoman, Florence Trevelyan (18521907), cousin of Queen Victoria. It tells of a wrong love, which took the girl to Sicily. «He stayed there for three years, but later returned to Taormina forever» says Beatrice Briguglio, the city’s tourism councilor.
A glimpse of the Florence Trevelyan Park in Taormina. (Photo by Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In addition to marrying the doctor Salvatore Cacciola, mayor of Taormina, Trevelyan cultivates her passions here. On an area of two hectares, he designed an eclectic garden, with six turrets and terraces in unusual shapes, inspired by Victorian “follies”. «He has them made by local workers, in red bricks, Taormina stone with inserts in lava rock and wood» adds Briguglio. «They are entertainment, without a precise function. The garden develops on different levels, with stairs, passages and labyrinthine shapes.” Since 1923 Florence Trevelyan Park has been owned by the Municipality and is open to all. It is fascinating to get lost among olive trees, citrus trees, oaks, pines, bougainvillea, dracaenas and the Ceiba speciosa with its thorny trunk. On the recommendation of Florence, an ornithology enthusiast, the garden had to be preserved with its trees, to offer refuge to her beloved birds.
Not to be missed. The goldfish tank, with a putto. The view from the valley walk, overlooking the sea. The view reaches as far as Etna and the Gulf of Naxos, Catania and Syracuse.
Vineyards, nature and art
Ca’ del Bosco, Erbusco (Bs). cadelbosco.com
In Praise of the Shadow by Bruno Romeda. Photo by Massimo Listri
Art welcomes you right from the gate with a work by Arnaldo Pomodoro. Scattered throughout a three-hectare garden and in the headquarters of the winery, there are sculptures by Igor Mitoraj, Mimmo Paladino, Rabarama, the blue wolves of Cracking Art, the rhinoceros suspended in the air by Stefano Bombardieri and various others. They are works of art that dialogue with the landscape. Made of green meadows, plants and flowers, but also vineyards cultivated with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Ca’ del Bosco is not only the home of the production of Franciacorta bubbles (and the Ca’ del Bosco Sculpture Award).
It is also a garden with lawns and chestnut trees, oaks, hornbeam hedges and cherry trees. The lake has aquatic vegetation of water lilies, marsh reeds, cattails. The company’s vineyards, all organic, extend over 280 hectares in 12 municipalities of Franciacorta. Walking along paths and cycle paths you may come across one of the 23 three-dimensional totems decorated by the students of the Academy of Fine Arts of Brescia (two are in the garden). Not to be missed. During the walk, after crossing the bridge over the lake you reach the heliport. From here the view extends over the garden, the sculptural works and the cellar.
If nature flourishes in the library
The network Great Italian Gardenswhich brings together 150 of the most beautiful gardens that can be visited in Italy (with 8 million visitors a year), presents two new editorial releases in its bookshops. It was published the 2026 edition of the guidewhich describes every single garden on the network, bilingual Italian and English text (14 euros).
The first issue of the publication has also been released Grandi Giardini Italiani-The Great Greenwhich will take place annually. Interviews and articles written by those responsible – owners, curators – of the gardens presented with extraordinary photos. «We give voice to the gardens of the network, living places that preserve a unique botanical heritage» underlines Bianca Passera, CEO of Grandi Giardini Italiani and entrepreneur, president since 2025 of the LarioHotels group, founded by Judith Wade, who remains as honorary president.