Among Wisteria and Rhododendrums - Enchanted in Lesser Known Italian Gardens

When I get to the end of January, fed up with winter like most people, I get fidgety and start browsing gardens both in Italy and Britain, planning what I can see and when.  Ian and I usually bicker on the journey out, usually about directions, or when he says 'why do we go and visit other people's gardens when you haven't even been to the bottom of our garden in the last six months'.  However, on the way back we are relaxed and any divorce proceedings fade away.  Right now I am dreaming of wisteria, which is one of my favourite climbers, and the garden that I would love to visit again is that of Villa La Pergola, near Alassio in Liguria.  

Villa La Pergola, Alassio

Alassio and Villa La Pergola are on the western part of Liguria, and a part of the coastline here is called Riviera dei Fiori, Riviera of Flowers.  Alassio is a lovely seaside resort with great bars and restaurants, and the garden is perched high up on a hill behind it.  The best times to visit it is either early March when the wisteria is in full bloom or in June when it is the turn of agapanthus to be the star of the garden.  

Villa La Pergola, Alassio

La Pergola was owned by the counts of Laigueglia until 1870 when the Scottish general William McMurdo bought it. This was the time when the British started taking holidays in the Italian Riviera and the Hanbury family created the beautiful gardens in Latte, near Ventimiglia. McMurdo, who had participated in  many war campaigns alongside sir Charles Napier, and had married Napier's daughter, set about transforming the property into a beautiful garden.  They also had a small villa built called Villa Napier.  After them, the Darlymples and then the Hanburys owned La Pergola and continued turning the five and a half acres into fabulous English style gardens.  More recently, after a period of neglect, the property was bought by the Ricci family who had the garden restored by Piero Pejrone, who is probably the best garden designer in Italy.

Here alongside maritime pine trees, carob trees and eucalyptus you will find banana trees, palms, aloe, agave and cactus species. The flowers that put on the best show apart from wisteria (you will find thirty varieties of wisteria here) and agapanthus are scented jasmines, roses, lavender, hydrangeas, bougainvillea, oleanders and giant strelitzias, which are rightly called flowers of Paradise.  You may well feel you are in paradise! 

If you are in the area I recommend you also visit the Hanbury Gardens I mentioned above.  Both Hanbury and La Pergola gardens are terraced and you always have a view of the sea, which makes the experience breathtaking.   Both gardens are open from March to October. 

Palazzo Malingri, Bagnolo Po, Cuneo

Parco Malingri, Bagnolo, Cuneo

The Malingri castle gardens are in Piedmont, in the province of Cuneo.  Here there is both an early medieval castle up on a hill and and 15th century palace in the valley below, with a beautiful garden that you access through a door in a picturesque courtyard.  As you enter, the first tree you see is a beautiful tulip tree but the stars here are the rhododendrons and azaleas which grow under the majestic trees. There is however colour throughout the year, with camelias, kalmias, hydrangeas, violets and hundreds of hostas.  Recently a rhododendron walk has been created which takes visitors up to the castle.  The whole upper valley is covered in red and white flowers, which are the colours of the owners' coat of arms, whilst the lower part of the valley is a tapestry of pink and lilac flowers.

Palazzo Malingri, Bagnolo Po, Cuneo

Villa Barbarigo Gardens, Valsanzibio, Padova

The gardens of Villa Barbarigo in Valsanzibio, on the Euganean Hills near Padua, are quite famous and a wonderful example of historical and original garden.  There were created in the 17th century by the Barbarigo family and they include an array of topiaries, fountains and water works. You even see a little lake with an island where rabbits live!  These gardens are a baroque masterpiece and totally original - they were meant to represent the journey of man to paradise.  The Barbarigo family would arrive from Venice here to their villa and gardens by boat on a canal which used to end at the gates of the villa. 

Labyrinth of Villa Barbarigo Gardens, Valsanzibio, Padua

The garden of Villa Barbarigo was created between 1665 and 1695 - the family meant it as a thank you to God for sparing them from the terrible plague of 1630-31. The labyrinth box hedges were planted then and are probably the oldest in the world. The garden also boasts trees that are 800 or 900 years old and centuries old specimens from the four continents. The Barbarigo family were one of the most important families in Venice - Marco and Agostino Barbarigo both reached the pinnacle of Venetian hierarchy by becoming doges. This garden is a real testament to the importance and wealth of the family and is truly wonderful.

Garden of Villa Barbarigo, Valsanzibio, Padua