The 10 most beautiful gardens in Italy

Italy is the country of art par excellence. But artistic culture is also to be found in gardens. Had you ever thought of that? Well, yes: that particular mix that distinguishes us so much in terms of history, nature, culture and beauty has ensured that our Belpaese enjoys splendid edens in miniature.

Once mostly the recreation of aristocrats and illustrious personalities, today within everyone's reach. Discover with us the 10 most beautiful gardens!

Classification Criteria

To compile the ranking, we called on members of the Travel365 community.
After selecting a group of 50 gardens, we asked a sample of more than 10,000 users to indicate 5 preferences. Analysing the data collected, we were able to decree the top 10!

10 - Park of the Thebaid, Siena

Photo by sailko. Inside Villa di Cetinale is a curious garden, created between 1698 and 1705. The latter takes its name from the desert area of Upper Egypt inhabited by Christian hermits in the Middle Ages. Not surprisingly, as you walk along the path that winds through the forest, you will come across stone crosses, sculptures of saints, statues of praying monks, votive chapels and frescoes.

9 - Gardens of the Villa Medicea di Castello, Florence

Photo by Sailko. On the Florentine hills is the seat of theAccademia della Crusca. It is surrounded by large, well-kept gardens, laid out on three terraces. The first consists of 16 quadrangular flowerbeds with a large fountain in the centre.
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The'Giardino degli agrumi' (citrus fruit garden), the name given to the second, allows the visitor to admire no less than 500 ornamental plants in pots. Finally, the third terrace consists of a dense wood of holm oaks and oaks.

8 - Park of the Castle of Miramare, Trieste

Photo by Mihael Grmek. Overlooking the Gulf of Trieste, the park of this enchanting castle by the sea, which seems to have come straight out of a fairy tale, contains a great variety of plants. Vast grassy spaces, winding paths and ponds create this beautiful green corner worthy of a prince. Inside you will also find the'Giardino delle Farfalle' (Butterfly Garden), a special environment where 150 species of lepidoptera live in this enchanting Trieste garden.

7 - La Scarzuola, Montegabbione

Photo by Sailko. In Umbria, we find this garden designed by architect Tomaso Buzzi. Among trees, paths, strange statues, staircases, bizarre constructions, theatres and monuments, you will live a strange experience in a surreal garden. A strange, magical, symbolic, esoteric place, deliberately utopian because it was so conceived by its creator. Definitely suggestive.

6 - Garden of Ninfa, Cisterna di Latina

Photo by etfruscoloni. There is a decidedly fascinating garden in Lazio, built on the ruins of the medieval city of Ninfa. Lelia Caetani, the last descendant of the noble family that owned it, was the one who was most responsible for the redevelopment of the property, turning it into a true English garden, with numerous plants and crossed by the river Ninfa and numerous streams. Since 1976, a WWF oasis has been established around the garden to protect the local flora and fauna, and even in 2000 the whole area of Ninfa was declared a nature monument. The New York Times called it the most beautiful garden in the world! Open only at certain times, it is visited by about fifty thousand tourists a year.

5 - Sigurtà Garden Park, Valeggio sul Mincio

Photo by Giulia balestrieri. In Veneto we find this pleasant mix of history, culture and nature, managed by different owners over the years: the Contarini family, the Guarienti family and the Maffei family, who kept it for 210 years. Later, in 1941, it was purchased by the Sigurtà family, still the current owners. Not to be missed are the spring blooms: hyacinths, narcissus and many, many tulips. This garden is the richest in southern Europe (second to Keukenhof) and the most important in Italy for these flowers.

4 - Villa Taranto, Verbania

Photo by Wolfgang Sauber. The terraced gardens of the villa are home to tens of thousands of plants, spread over an area of about 160,000 m² and criss-crossed by no less than 7 km of paths. The gardens of Villa Taranto are considered among the most beautiful in the world. It was created by Captain Neil Boyd Watson McEacharn, a British soldier with a strong passion for botany and a love for Italy. The gardens are divided into various areas identifiable as greenhouses, terraced gardens, flower beds and herbaria.

3 - Villa Grock, Imperia

A magical and mysterious place, wanted by a clown who used to come here to rest. Villa Grock, named after Charles Adrien Wettach (considered the greatest clown of all time) is an incredible and extravagant architectural and decorative mix of Rococo, Art Nouveau, art-deco and oriental elements, all loaded with esoteric and Masonic symbolism.
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After a lengthy renovation, the gardens were opened to the public in 2006, and since 2010 the palace can also be visited.

2 - Villa Carlotta, Tremezzo

Photo by ildirettore. On Lake Como, this beautiful villa is known not only for the works of art it contains, but also for its splendid garden. The village of Tremezzo is situated in one of the most beautiful spots on the lake. The imposing but sober villa stands on top of the beautiful and rich garden, whose development is favoured in flowering by the particular climate. It enjoys a fantastic view of the Bellagio peninsula and the mountains surrounding the lake. Its garden is of great historical and architectural value. In it there are citrus pergolas, camellia hedges, 150 varieties of azaleas, rhododendrons, tropical plants, the valley of the Australian ferns, palms, cedars, the garden of bamboos and century-old conifers. The greenhouse, used in winter for citrus fruits, has been transformed into an interesting museum of ancient agricultural tools.

1 - Park of the Royal Palace of Caserta

Photo by Tango7174. That it is the park of a royal palace already says a lot: a riot of greenery enriched by magnificent fountains and statues. Long avenues connecting an Italian garden with an English one, pools populated with fish and the triumphant Great Waterfall at the end of the park, further embellished by a mythological scene that seems to come alive before the spectator's eyes! Diana, surrounded by some nymphs, is about to plunge into the waters while Actaeon, guilty of having dared to look at the Goddess in her nudity, is already partly transformed into a stag; all around him are the dogs that will tear him to pieces. Simply magnificent!