SHORT STORIES SET A reconciling walk Text e photographs by Cristina Archinto She went out and the door slammed, more due to the draught from the stairs than to any specific will of her own, but that act certainly reflected her state of mind. Suddenly she found herself outside the house with no clear plan or purpose; she was furious. She looked around, upset and undecided as to what to do; she was certainly not in the mood for a museum and lacked the ability to concentrate on learning something. She cross ed the street almost without realizing it, avoiding being run over by mopeds, scooters and bicycles, unbearable in that city. She had already entered through that gate a few days earlier only to stop almost immediately and lighten up in front of works such as Bernini's Rape of Proserpine or Caravaggio's Cut of Lights at the Villa Borghese Museum, but this time she went straight ahead and entered the park. She walked along a boundary wall where low boxwood hedges and autumn flowers could be seen between steps. As she reached the end, she was attracted to the left by strong autumnal tones of majestic trees. As she approached, she immediately realised that she had arrived in the Platani Valley, a wonderful valley of ancient trees. Once rural, it was tamed into a garden in 1603 by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the favourite nephew of Pope Paul V. At that time it was a forest of more than forty oriental plane trees with a central basin and two small islands intended for the resting place of ducks and fine birds, including swans that the Cardinal had specially brought in from Brussels. Now there were only nine beautiful specimens left, which had survived for more than four hundred years and seemed to look sternly and wisely at you through their twisted branches and trunks. He continued along the valley with his gaze upwards, admiring these wonders but also keeping an eye out for the dogs that were running wild in this part of the garden. She approached a particularly curved specimen with a large slit in its trunk and looking at its gnarled branches reminded her of that 'Sensei' who a few years earlier had given a special Aikido lesson at his dojo. Two hours immersed in silence with only the rustle of the hakama, his words light, breathing wisdom. Of course now she was a little sorry that Jan was not there that day, they would have reminisced together. The anger was already fading as always, but this time she was more determined to hold on, she would not give in so easily that day. She continued along the valley looking up admiring those wonders but also keeping an eye out for the dogs that were running wild in this part of the garden. She approached a particularly curved specimen with a large slit in its trunk and looking at its gnarled branches reminded her of that 'Sensei' who a few years earlier had given a special Aikido lesson at his dojo. Two hours immersed in silence with only the rustle of the hakama, his words light, breathing wisdom. Of course now she was a little sorry that Jan was not there that day, they would have reminisced together. The anger was already fading as always, but this time she was more determined to hold on, she would not give in so easily that day. She continued along the valley, where she also passed some black walnut trees and horse chestnuts with a certain lift, only to be astonished again by a majestic specimen of hackberry tree with its fluttering leaves that were gradually leaving the branches and its broad, almost perfectly round crown. He, too, reminded her of someone. The art teacher at her high school, round and always smiling, who had taken her under his wing and had not only taught her how to draw but also some philosophies of life that she still used in difficult times. Beautiful person, who knows what had happened to her. She climbed the small hill to reach the small lake of Villa Borghese. A small pool of water embraced by a variety of remarkable trees. It was in 1766 when Prince Marcantonio IV Borghese, a descendant of Scipione, decided to expand the family park by creating the Giardino del Lago with a temple dedicated to the god of medicine Aesculapius. Like all the Borghesi, he too devoted himself, thanks to his huge family fortune and, it must be said in this case, especially that of his wife Princess Anna Maria Salviati, to the pleasures of the Roman aristocratic life, patronising new artists and works, thus enriching the family collection previously squandered by his father. It was he who had a poster put up in the park that read 'Whoever you are, O stranger, provided you are a free man, fear not here the fetters of laws. Walk where you will, seize what you desire, retire when it pleases you. Everything here is arranged for the enjoyment of the foreigner before the owner'. Indeed, the park, although private, had always been the scene of festivities and balls and was often open to citizens from all walks of life. He began the work of embellishing the park of the villa and his son Camillo, known perhaps more for his marriage to Pauline Bonaparte, finished the work. Of course, who knows what the pond must have been like in those days; gossiping ladies strolling under clear parasols, poets extolling their prose, lovers in the throes of love gushing their hot tears into the lake, or artists in the shade of oak trees portraying the beautiful panorama of the 'Villa delle Delizie'. In the meantime, she was enjoying that beautiful autumn landscape of tall pines, some bald cypresses already in warm tones, and that majestic cedar of Lebanon, all making themselves beautiful by reflecting in the lake. Even the little temple had that something. On one side there was also a centuries-old Quecia ilex that stood out for its height and broad foliage. She had never liked holm oaks, she found them sad and gloomy, like Christoffer, her lifelong melancholic and gloomy classmate, who had unnerved her with his grey aura for years. But certainly this was a spectacular specimen that perhaps made her reconsider. She also noticed an elderly lady giving bread to the ducks. She could never get over the unquestioning fascination of feeding animals, nor could she understand how Jan had not been able to remind his boss this morning that he was on holiday. It had taken them months to organise this Roman period, she was going to take a sabbatical, he was going to take his back leave and they were going to go to Rome for the autumn to discover the Eternal City, a dream in both their drawers, but in the end, he had left her alone again today, pass the other days, but not today! She wandered around the lake area again until he reached Piazza di Siena, a huge oval lawn surrounded by cypress trees as straight as spindles. The area was once occupied by a large 17th-century ragnaia, a grove of tall trees where nets were spread to catch small birds. Beautiful cypresses, he thought, they are linear! He smiled to himself at the stupid joke. The anger was definitely waning, surely the credit also went to this somewhat magical place, intrinsic in history made of stones and trees. He continued with his game, Björn no, Erik neither, Astrid? Yes of course, she is a cypress! Obviously tall but with that strange look, silent, because cypresses are certainly silent trees, but happy even if they don't show it. When I get back I'll tell her, who knows how her new project is progressing. Maybe I'll write to her later. After resting a little on the steps at the side of the square, she headed south and found herself in an amazing pine forest. Very tall trees, up to 20 metres tall, with bushy, umbrella-shaped crowns. The high sun intruded between the pine needles, making them almost transparent and silky, and the shadows of the straight trunks created abstract paintings on the green lawn. What a vision! Here, domestic pines were certainly trees that he valued highly, as did the ancient Romans, who spread them throughout the empire! Even today, the pine is considered a symbol of Italy, not least because the English call it Italian stone pine and the French call it Pin d'Italie , and it has even won the prestigious Royal Horicultural Society award. She wandered among the trees enraptured by such beauty. Who did the pines remind him of? Beautiful, tall, majestic but not arrogant, with beautiful bearing, also nice and generous with their pine nuts, and certainly honest, determined and robust. Who knows. She thought for a few minutes. Several names floated through her mind until Jan. Wow, that's really him. Moved and without even realising it, with a big smile on her face, she headed home, having already forgiven the love of her life; her beloved Pinus pinea GALLERY Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO Other SET STORIES AND PARKS TO VISIT Priorato d'Orsan Parco Villa la Grange Parco di Sicurtà Jardin des Plantes Nantes Parco del Flauto Magico Parco di Bercy Parco del valentino

Bruxelles Meise Botanical Garden Photographs and text by CrisTina Archinto A part of the forest with a carpet of Allium ursinum At the Meise Botanical Garden, also known as Jardin botanique Meise which is located about 10 km northwest of Brussels, Belgium, you walk, walk and walk again! It is currently the largest botanical garden in the world and at the end of the day you feel all those kilometers but they were worth it. ​ Its history is quite ancient, it begins in 1796 when the Austrian government decided to create a botanical garden at the castle of Bouchout, in Meise. The main focus of the garden was to grow medicinal and food plants. Over the following centuries, the botanical garden developed considerably, also thanks to the collaboration with the University of Louvain, until it became the National Botanical Garden of Belgium. Today it covers an area of 92 hectares and is home to over 18,000 plant species from all over the world, many of which are kept in the garden's greenhouses. In addition, the garden carries out important biodiversity research and conservation activities, working in collaboration with other botanical institutions around the world. Rododendron Fortunei and Rododendron Gladis rose Entering the forest, the first enchantment is in front of the vast collection of azaleas and rhododendrons located in the shade of centuries-old specimen trees. This collection has ancient origins and is one of the most important in Europe, including many rare and endangered species from all over the world. The first azalea was planted at the Botanical Garden in 1796, but the real expansion of the collection took place under the direction of Édouard Morren, from 1869 to 1892, who made many botanical expeditions to Asia, Africa and America, where he collected numerous azalea and rhododendron plants. In addition, Morren was a pioneer in the creation of azalea hybrids, achieving results that earned him numerous prizes at international botanical fairs. Today, this collection comprises more than 2,500 species and varieties of azaleas and rhododendrons. During flowering, which usually takes place between April and May, there is this explosion of colours in various shades of pink, red, purple and white. A true visual experience. the Botanical Garden also organised an annual azalea festival, during which guided tours, lectures and other activities focusing on azaleas and rhododendrons are organised. Azaleas and rhododendrons The scientific name of the genus of azaleas, Rhododendron, was given only in 1753 by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, who classified the plants in detail in his "Species Plantarum". The name "azalea" instead, derives from the Greek "azaleos", which means "dry", and refers to the ability of plants to tolerate dry soils. ​ Azaleas and rhododendrons, even if they are plants belonging to the same botanical family, that of the Ericaceae, have many differences between them such as flowering: azaleas have funnel-shaped flowers with five lobes, while rhododendrons have bell-shaped flowers with ten lobes. As for the leaves, those of azaleas are generally smaller and thinner than those of rhododendrons. Additionally, azalea leaves tend to be softer and lighter. Even the natural habitats are different: that of the azaleas are usually native to wooded areas of the temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe and North America, while the rhododendrons are more common in the mountainous regions of East Asia, North America and Europe. The difference is also in the size; rhododendrons tend to be larger and slower growing than azaleas. The winter greenhouse The Meise Botanical Garden is also home to a large collection of trees from around the world, many of which are of significant rarity, beauty or cultural significance. Like the Giant Sequoia trees native to California which are among the largest trees in the world. Ginkgo biloba is an ancient tree that has been described as a living fossil and has a long history of medicinal use. The Atlas Cedar is a tree native to North Africa that is known for its resistance to drought and environmental degradation. And the Wollemi Pine a tree that was discovered only in 1994 and was believed to be extinct for over 90 million years. Egyptian Geese The current greenhouse, also known as the "winter greenhouse", was built between 1952 and 1958. It was an innovative structure and had to replace the old greenhouse destroyed by the war, with a heating system based on geothermal energy and a natural ventilation system which allowed the humidity to be controlled inside the greenhouse. The winter greenhouse now houses a large collection of tropical and subtropical plants, including many rare and endangered species, including many species of Araceae, such as Colocasia gigantea. In addition to the winter greenhouse, the Meise Botanical Garden also houses other specialized greenhouses, including greenhouses for carnivorous plants, orchids and palms. Walking through the vast garden you can also reach an artificial lake, an important breeding and rest area for numerous species of migratory birds such as the Egyptian geese (Alopochen aegyptica), originally from sub-Saharan Africa. This goose is a large bird, its wingspan is up to one and a half meters. They have a distinctive black head and neck, grayish-brown plumage on the body and a white tail and live happily in large groups often near fresh water like here, and are beautiful to look at. GALLERY Photos ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO Info: Official website Other GARDENS and PARKS Giardino di Villandry Giardini di Villandry Giardini Botanici di Villa Taranto Giardini Botanici di Villa Taranto I giardini di Villa Melzi I giardini di Villa Melzi Parco giardini di Sicurtà Parco giardini di Sicurtà Gairdino di Villa Lante Villa Lante parco del Flauto Magico Parco Flauto Magico Bomarzo Parco Villa la Grange

SHOP BOOK GARDENS IN THE SHADE OF MOUNT ETNA by Cristina Archinto A book that tells the story and the landscape of this enchanted place. Eight gardens, eight different realities linked together by the lava flows of this majestic volcano. ​ In the shadow of Etna, lichens and broom replenish the woods of the slopes crossed by the lava: it is nature that regenerates itself after each flow. Observing the vitality of these processes, the communities of Etna have learned to recognize their richness and ability to adapt. This is how the citrus scented landscape was born and a pioneering science of ecosystems developed: a culture of coexistence with the volcano that gardens have celebrated, acclimatizing specimens from all over the world alongside the local species. ​ Cristina Archinto's photographs tell of the extraordinary adventure that involved the first herbalists and the botanists of the Catania Garden, the wisdom that unites enthusiasts of yesterday and today in continuous experimentation. Portraying the strength of centuries-old olive trees or the elegance of agaves, his shots take us to the most evocative places of seven Etna gardens; and showing the tenacity of opuntias or the poetry of eternal blooms, they reveal the range of greens and the play of light that only Sicily can offer. Alessandra Valentinelli Index ETNA Between nature, history and culture PARCO PATERNÒ DEL TOSCANO In the shadow of the volcano CIANCIO GARDEN In the green of the lava GRAVINA GARDEN The terrace on the Timpa ROOMS IN FLOWER The art of colour VILLA ORTENSIA The beautiful landscape of the citrus grove ETNA BOTANIC GARDEN Iddu CATANIA BOTANICAL GARDEN The Etna road of science ​ FORM Title: GARDENS IN THE SHADOW OF MOUNT ETNA Author: Cristina Archinto Text: Alessandra Valentinelli Photographs: Cristina Archinto Translation: Stefania Bellingardi Beale Text: Italian and English Illustrated book with 80 photographs Format 24 x 23cm Number of pages 108, Soft cover Paperback packaging Cost €26.00 ONLINE PURCHASE DISCOUNT €23.00 ​ BUY ONLINE ​

AMSTERDAM BOTANICAL GARDEN OF AMSTERDAM From Ortus Medicus to Ortus Botanicus Photos Cristina Archinto Text Carla DeAgostini I t was1638 when the plague hit Amsterdam and medicinal plants represented the only way to cure and prevent it. It was for this reason that in the same year was created the Hortus Medicus , a place where doctors and pharmacists met in order to learn and share their botanical and medical knowledge, always enriching the collection of medicinal plants. The first who catalogued the whole collection was, in 1646, the director of that year Snippendaal: it took him a whole year to count the 796 species of plants, and to write the catalog, but thanks to his hard work Carl Nilsson Linnaeus in 1753 succeeded in writing his fundamental work Species Plantarum . Meanwhile in 1682, thanks to the commercial contacts of the East India Company and to the help of collectors from the Netherlands, the Garden acquired many species, not only medicinal, but also greenhouse and ornamental, which transformed the old Hortus from Medicus to Botanicus, a new center of intense research and trade. Also in this period, the botanical illustrators Jan and Maria Moninckx were commissioned to document the new collection, and they created the Moninckx Atlas : not the usual herbarium with dried plants, but a catalog containing graphic reproductions of the most recent and exotic plants. The task, which ended in 1749, required the production of nine volumes, and involved other expert watercolorists Such as Johanna H. Herolt, daughter of Sibylla Merian, and Alida Withoos, daughter of Mathias Withoos, the painter of still life master of Gaspar Van Wittel. Even today the Moninckx Atlas is considered the main testimony of the extraordinary contribution of women to the birth of scientific drawing. ​ Today, the Hortus Botanicus covers little more than one hectare but boasts an enormous variety of plant: there are about 4,000 species, including those grown outdoors and those housed in its seven greenhouses, just over 1% of the world's plant diversity and it is a place rich in history, where modern events of emancipation and cutting-edge studies are intertwined for their attention to both the past and the present. An example is the semi circular garden reorganized in Systemic Garden in 1863. The semicircle shape in fact represents the systematic classification of plants: species that are closely related are found growing near each other, while those that have little in common are grown far away. Currently, they are classified according to the Angiosperma Phylogeny Group (APG), among the most advanced technologies of "molecular systematics," based on similarities in genetic material. Here, if summer is a riot of blooms, winter lets the symmetrical lines of boxwood hedges emerge. A true masterpiece of modern architecture is the Three Climates Greenhouse, designed in 1993 by Zwarts & Jansma Architects, which brings together three different climatic environments: the subtropics, the desert and the tropics. A suspended walkway allows visitors to pass from one area to the another, each with its own temperature, humidity and air circulation. Walkers enjoy the view of the tangle of lianas and leaves, look closely at the tree canopy while catching a glimpse of the sky through the glass roof as they pass through dry scrub, jungle and desert. In the first one he comes across geraniums, agapanthus and gerberas, then reaches the humid subtropical climate where the protagonist is the abundance of water, and finally the desert section, where cacti and majestic succulents from faraway deserts stand out. Instead in the Palms Greenhouse you can admire, next to giant palms specimens, the famous 350-year-old Cyca Encephalartos altensteinii, purchased in 1850 by William III. The Hortus boasts the presence of 60 different species of cycads, protected and safeguarded also thanks to the collaboration with other gardens, through the exchange of pollen, seeds or young plants. Hundreds of tropical butterflies color the small Butterfly House, fluttering over an interesting collection of tropical plants linked to trade with the Americas, such as coffee, tea or chocolate. The Garden also specializes in South African, Australian and carnivorous plant families. The Hortus Botanicus of Amsterdam , with its history and collections, is now an internationally recognized historical, herbalist and scientific heritage, but it is also a pleasant stop to get lost in during a trip to the Dutch city par excellence GALLERY Info: Official website Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO FEATURED Illustrations by Maria Moninckx and Maria Sibylla Merian FEMALE BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATIONS: THE MONINCKX ATLAS The Moninckx Atlas is a collection of botanical images, containing watercolor and gouache reproductions of 425 exotic plants from Asia, South Africa and South America, planted in the Botanical Garden of Amsterdam. This collection, divided into nine books, takes its name from the two artists who contributed the most to its creation: Jan and Maria Moninckx. Maria Moninckx was born in The Hague around 1673, and was the daughter of an important painter, Johannes Moninckx, and Ariaentje Pieters, also an artist. Renowned in the field as a floral painter, for the Atlas performs 101 illustrations. The side by side, in addition to Jan Moninckx, two other women Johanna Herolt-Graff, daughter of Maria Sibylla Merian whose books are still considered masterpieces of painting and precursors of modern entomology, and Alida Withoos. Both botanical illustrators of the time, they are part of a discipline underestimated in the artistic field but of extreme importance in the scientific world, as an aid to the classification and study of plant morphology, since unlike herbals it provides a representation of both the shape and the details of the various species. In this case, botanical illustrators study closely not only plants and flowers but the life of insects themselves, often achieving important, as well as ignored, scientific results. For example, Maria Sibylla Merian between 1679 and 1683 printed The marvelous metamorphosis of caterpillars and their singular feeding on flowers , a work where she illustrates more than 176 animal species, from silkworms to butterflies, in every stage of development with as many species of flowers and plants on which the animal feeds. In fact, every table shows data about the times of metamorphosis, nutrition and life cycle of each one. Precisely because of this precision Merian is today considered the first entomologist in the history of science, a recognition that will be given only in the twentieth century, after centuries in the shadows, renowned only in expert circles of the sector. These illustrations therefore represent not only an essential tool for study, but also an emancipation from the prejudice according to which science, and therefore botany, was, and often still is, a male prerogative only. more botanical gardens and nurseries Orto botanico di Napoli Orto Botanico di Zurigo e la Serra Malgascia Giardino Botanico Nuova Gussonea Orto Botanico di Catania Orto Botanico di Ginevra Centro Botanico Moutan Orto Botanico di Palermo Roseto di Roma

FRANCE A pond in the shade of a Cercidiphyllum from Japan Jardin Des Plantes of nantes ​ A History of Seeds and Sailors Photographs and text by Cristina Archinto T he history of France, it is well known, abounds with seafarers and colonies but not everyone knows that from the very beginning the attention given to botany was almost on a par with that of England. In the heart of the Loire region, in Nantes, not far from the railway station, there is a garden, or rather, to be more precise, a Jardin des Plantes, truly noteworthy, not only because it is very well maintained, even in these times of drought and decidedly high temperatures, but because its history, which has always been linked to French explorers, has brought truly remarkable botanical specimens from all over the world. ​ River Loira Its history has distant roots; it was in 1688 when a group of local pharmacists decided to create, more for pleasure than anything else, a small 'apothecary's garden' (Jardin des Apothicaires ). But it was only with the arrival of Pierre Chirac, doctor and superintendent of the royal medicinal plant gardens, that the garden developed into an official 'royal plant garden'. This was due both to its geographical location - Nantes lies on the Loire, a river navigable as far as Paris and an ideal place for the acclimatisation of new plants - and, above all, to what the doctor was able to achieve by exploiting his social position: a royal decree, dated 1726 by Louis XV, obliging 'all captains of ships in Nantes to bring back seeds and plants from colonies in foreign countries and deliver them to the Jardin des Plantes in Nantes', from that moment on, Chirac was supplied with a considerable amount of 'raw material' and the garden began its strong growth. Collections of annuals But its history is long and has other protagonists; first there was Jean Alexandre Hectot, who in 1806 became director of the garden, relocated to its current location and to whom we owe the great collections, including that of magnolias . Then there was Antoine Noisette, a well-known landscape gardener of the time, who in 1822 was asked to redevelop the garden to open it to the public but, as he had set up a plant trade at the same time, the gardener over time concentrated more on sales than on growing the garden and in 1835 was dismissed. Subsequently, Jean-Marie Écorchard arrived to restore the garden from a personal nursery to the botanical garden of Nantes. Thanks also to the continual contributions of sailors who had not lost the habit of providing new plants, including Captain Mathurin Jean, who brought back thousands of seeds and plants from places such as Martinique and India, he brought it back to its worthy splendour. He was also responsible for the construction of the first greenhouse in 1844 and the 'English park' style that still exists, with ponds and tree-lined avenues, and the definitive opening to the public in 1865. The last protagonist in the garden's history was Paul Marmy, who became the director, in 1893, of an orchard that had unfortunately fallen into disrepair in the meantime, both because of the "great frost" in the winter of 1879 that killed 245 trees and 600 shrubs, and because of a lack of funds from the municipality. He was responsible for the reorganisation of the botanical collections and the creation of the 'palmarium', a beautiful greenhouse of palms and exotic plants that is still well preserved today. One of the four greenhouses The garden today covers more than seven hectares with several greenhouses, hot, cold and an orange grove. The 'Palmarium' greenhouse is also used as a tropical ecology laboratory and houses lianas and epiphytic plants (air plants). In the park, still in the English style, one can enjoy ponds, fountains, small islands and the ever-present pavilion. In a more botanical sphere, monumental trees, given its long history, are not lacking. In addition to the magnolia grandiflora known as 'Hector's magnolia', which, if it were indeed the same one planted by the director, would be over two hundred years old, although some believe it did not survive the great frost and was therefore replaced in 1880, there are Magnolia ferruginea of the Platanus acerifolia, Liriodendron tulipifera of the Aesculus hippocastanum, Sequoiadendron giganteum, Sequoia sempervirens, Metasequoia glyptostroboides , Wollemia nobilis, Cercidiphyllum of Japan and Taxodium distichum all around one hundred and fifty years old , in addition there are several shrubs and perennials such as Angelica heterocarpa , in total around 10. 000 different species from all over the world. A artwork by Jean Julien Since the summer of 2020, works by Jean Julien , a local artist and graduate of St. Martin's in London, can be seen in the garden. They are amusing, almost two-dimensional characters that can be found around the park, in the paths, on the lawns, around the trees, created especially for the Jardin des Plantes in Nantes. The cacti greenhouse French botanical culture has distant roots and is linked, as we have still seen, to a history of sailors and colonies, but it must be said, the habit of having such places accessible to all, including dogs, free of charge, is a sign of civilisation. For the French, it is a prerogative to cultivate botanical culture, and so it should also become ours. For them, reading in the shade of a tree whose name you can even learn, or having the chance to wait for someone while enjoying a turn-of-the-century greenhouse full of exotic plants, or being able to have a picnic while breathing in the scent of exemplary flowers, perhaps, as in this case, also surrounded by works of art that certainly put one in a good mood, is fundamental. Let us remember that only by spreading the culture of green will we begin to get the respect it deserves. GALLERY Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO more botanical gardens and nurseries Orto botanico di Berlino Orto botanico di Madrid Orto botanico di Amsterdam Orto botanico di Napoli Orto Botanico di Zurigo e la Serra Malgascia Giardino Botanico Nuova Gussonea Orto Botanico di Catania Orto Botanico di Ginevra

SICILY Favignana THE IMPOSSIBLE GARDEN An ancient and characteristic activity of Sicily and in particular of Favignana, one of the Egadi Islands, was the exploitation of the tuff quarries, called "pirrere", where the compact limestone rock was reduced into blocks of various sizes. The master quarrymen (the "pirriaturi") using cleavers and other simple manual tools dug the ground deep, leaving vast abysses in the case of open-air quarries, or a maze of tunnels, tunnels and environments in the case of cave quarries. In Favignana, the inhabitants extracted the stone first along the coast, then, in order not to be spotted by pirates, in the interior of the island. An ancient and characteristic activity of Sicily and in particular of Favignana, one of the Egadi Islands, was the exploitation of the tuff quarries, called "pirrere", where the compact limestone rock was reduced into blocks of various sizes. The master quarrymen (the "pirriaturi") using cleavers and other simple manual tools dug the ground deep, leaving vast abysses in the case of open-air quarries, or a maze of tunnels, tunnels and environments in the case of cave quarries. In Favignana, the inhabitants extracted the stone first along the coast, then, in order not to be spotted by pirates, in the interior of the island. When there was nothing left to use, the quarry was abandoned, and then, more often than not, it was transformed into a "garden": for the subsistence of the families there were planted mainly fruit trees, such as almonds, carob trees, lemons and oranges, which grew beautifully, protected from the summer heat, winter winds, salt. At times, they were planting also some pines or palms, to symbolize the water, like in the Arab world, or the vine, the pomegranate and some flowers, to be brought in the house and in the cemetery, and they were breeding farmyard animals, such as rabbits, chickens, and even the pig; obviously, they had to contain a well, from which they were extracting the water, which, even if slightly brackish, was used for cooking, washing, for watering the trees and the plants. Thanks to these gardens, today called hypogeous gardens, Favignana was self-sufficient. Today Favignana is dotted with them, an integral part of houses and gardens, even in the historical centre, because often the owners' houses were built next to the quarries; their recovery, therefore, is necessary to restore the memory of these places and promote their knowledge. This is what happened with the Hypogeal Gardens of Villa Margherita, also known as the Impossible Gardens, registered in the Book of Expressions of the R.E.I.L. Egadi Islands as an expression of the cultural heritage of humanity. They are the result of a dream and the tenacity of their owner, Maria Gabriella Campo, who arrived in Favignana as a young bride forty years ago and decided, against everyone's opinion, to reclaim the large family quarries and transform them into gardens. During the reclamation works, which began in 2001, evocative views and traces of the different cutting systems in the various mining eras emerged: the galleries and caves dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the large open-air part, cut with mechanical means in the years 1950-60. Four years later, in 2005, after the addition of earth to raise the bottom of the deepest quarries by a few metres, more than 300 different species and varieties from all over the world were planted, including Aleppo pines, fruit trees, carob trees, false pepper (Schinus molle), olive trees, strawberry trees, Polygala myrtifolia, Callistemon, brooms, agaves and Dasylirion in profusion, papyrus and water lilies. Today, the Hypogeal Gardens of Villa Margherita (which is also a residence) are therefore a place of extreme magic, a botanical garden and a submerged Eden. Walking through them, you can perceive, at times, images of distant and almost primordial landscapes, of ancient pagan times, of Arab and Persian gardens. ​ Text by Margherita lombardi froma ITALIAN BOTANICAL HERITAGE The Garden Info: Official site Other gardens Villa d'Este GARDEN Kenroku-en PARK Ninfa GARDEN Villa Pizzo GARDEN Castello di Masino GARDEN Parigi PARK

LIGURIA VENTIMIGLIA HANBURY BOTANICAL GARDENS BY ALESSANDRA VALENTINELLI Today the Hanbury Gardens are not only of scientific interest and a feast for the eyes, but they also offer a unique insight into the history of botanical studies. The current collections are a reflection of the succession of the individual curators, the ties formed with botanical gardens around the world, and the thoughtfulness of the owners, which developed over the long years spent in La Mortola. For these reasons the different blooming calendars embrace the alternating of months and explain the succession of “cultural periods” relating to the acquisition of the collections. The Hanbury Gardens first started as a nursery for the acclimation of exotic plants. The gardens still retain their original purpose amid its century old specimens that are an integral part of the plant collection: the Pinus canariensis, the Araucaria from Queensland, the Casimiroa and its edible fruits, were all imported between 1868 and 1872. These stand witness to the pharmacopoeia studies conducted by Sir Thomas's brother, the botanist Daniel Hanbury. When taking a walk around the Palace, one actually walks through a living record of the voyages, the memories and the relationships the Hanbury weaved with all corners of the Earth: the pomegranate tree that lined the loggia, the Banksia that Sir Thomas brought back from China, the Samuela, a Mexican desert Yucca variety discovered in 1900 by William Trelease, and the Cupressus lusitanica donated by Gustave Thuret, the director of the Jardin des Plantes of Antibes in 1869. In 1912 this tree measured 16 metres in height and had a 1.7 metres circumference. It now tops 25 metres and has a diameter of 5 metres. The same can be said of the "Topia", the pergola that adorned Marquis Orengo’s gardens, side by side to where wisterias, clematis, bignonias and thunbergias, the Semele from the Canary Islands, the Homalocladium from the Solomon Islands, and the Vietnamese Tetrastigma thrive. Behind the Palace lies the steeper part of the gardens. Here, one can find the most faithful blueprint of the project mapped out by Ludwig Winter according to Sir Thomas Hanbury’s wishes. One of the reasons was the building constraints of the irrigation system and the consolidation of walls made right after the purchase of the estate, in order to outfit the old terrace formations. Walking eastbound one finds the succulent slope. Here the African aloes planted by Kurt Dinter are predominant. Later Alwin Berger populated it with many American cacti varieties. Three hundred and twenty five species of Aloe: the columnar A.principis, the creeping A.mitriformis, the lithe A.striatula, the pink blanketing of the Drosanthemum, and over one hundred varieties of agave and cacti, among which are the Yucca elephantipes and australis, the deep carmine colours of the Schotia brachypetala and the the Beaucarnea stricta and recurvata. Whereas, walking westbound one reaches the "Grande Route", that was designed by Winter and was also accessible by cars. The palm grove is visible upon arrival, but so are the rarest species personally handpicked by the Hanburys: the Musa paradisiacal maurelii and cavendishi banana trees, native to tropical Africa; the Brahea dulcis and armata palms trees; the Microcitrus, an Australian wild citrus variety; the Chiranthodendron pentadactylon discovered in the mid-nineteenth century in Guatemala; the Ginkgo biloba that back then could only be obtained from inland China; the Chicas revoluta and the Macrozamia, two family varieties that date back to the Mesozoic Era; the Saharan Ephedra altissima and the Chilean Quillaja saponaria evergreen. The diverse variety of plants, which adapted differently to the local climate and that were planted in close proximity, resulted in a blooming season that lasted year round. This display is still visible today, with the turning of the seasons, and may be viewed at all times on the terraced slopes adjacent to the villa by simply letting the eye wander along the subtropical plants of the "Four Seasons Garden", which bloom from winter to late summer, or the “Japanese Garden” that harbours irises, daffodils and plum trees, or from the roses and peonies expanse, up to the pathway that heads to the villa, lined with the aromatic plants: sage, thyme, lavender and marjoram, and also the fragrant scent of wintersweet, of jasmine, honeysuckle and bitter orange trees. South of the villa, next to the garden paths that originally lead to the Gardens and the “Vista Nuova”, the panoramic entrance inaugurated by Lady Dorothy Hanbury in 1920, is the Australian Forest with its Eucalyptus citriodora and sideroxylon, the Melaleuca preissiana and cuticularis, and the Sterculiaceae Brachychiton discolour. The Meadow lies just across from the Iulia Augusta Roman Road, which cuts across the garden from east to west. In the letters written by Sir Thomas to his wife Katharine, he describes it as a wilderness, a scrubland expanse. At the very centre is the centuries-old olive grove that belonged to the Orengo Family. In the lower half of the Meadow one can see the displays brought about by Lady Dorothy, all commissioned after the disappearance of her in-laws. With the help of Sir Cecil Hanbury, husband and heir to the estate, of her father John Frederic Symons-Jeune, and of her brother Bertram Hanmer Bunbury Symons-Jeune, the former a landscape architect whilst the latter a nurseryman specialized in rock gardens, the Meadow is embellished by ancient cultivars: citrus shrubs and exotic fruits trees native to the valleys of Liguria. Adjacent to the “Viale degli Ulivi” (the Olive Path), which leads to the coast, are lemons, grapefruit, tangerines, clementines and countless varieties of Citrus: citrons, myrtle-leaved oranges, bergamots and sweet and bitter oranges. On the eastern slope, one finds cultivations of South American and New Zealander fruit trees, Chinese quinces, peach and loquats, or Japanese medlars, local mountain ashes, hazelnuts, jujube and pistachio varieties. Finally, near the coastline, scattered among the pines, is the rockrose and the sage field. One can also admire the Acacia karroo with its large thorns and a young male tree of Olmediella betschleriana native of Mexico. The only other specimen of this tree present in the whole of the European continent is a female one. It can be found in the Naples Botanical Garden. In 1960, following the aftermath of WWII and the destruction caused by the opposing French and German fronts, Dorothy sold the Gardens to the Italian government. The Italian government placed them under the historical building and landscape Protection Act. In 1983, the University of Genoa took charge of the estate and in the year 2000 it became a “Protected Marine Area”. Today with 2,500 taxa, a mixture of old and new plants, the Department of Botany also manages a Germplasm or Seed Bank for the conservation of endemic biodiversity, the latter being at risk in the Ligurian Alps. An on-going project is the Herbaria, established by the original gardeners and curators. This brings us full circle, linking the Hanburys’ dreams and hopes for a brighter future in today’s botanical studies and all researches to come. Photo © CRISTINA ARCHINTO Info: www.giardinihanbury.com More botanical gardens and nurseries Orto Botanico di Ginevra Orto Botanico di Ginevra Centro Botanico Moutan Orto Botanico di Palermo Roseto di Roma Chicago Batanical Garden Giardino Esotico Pallanca Parco Botanico Villa Rocca

REGGIA EMILIA Labyrinth of Masone BY LIVIA DANESE In the province of Parma, near the small town of Fontanellato, is the largest labyrinth in the world. The Labirinto della Masone was founded by publisher and art collector Franco Maria Ricci. He and his friend and colleague Jorge Luis Borges fantasized about conceiving a garden with natural winding paths to ideally represent the uncertainties of each man's life. One can associate the complexity of the world with the intricate shape of a labyrinth, which is a symbol of the perplexity and bewilderment experienced by men who face the unknown. A labyrinth is traditionally created to confuse and disorient, yet the Labirinto della Masone’s purpose is to distance itself as much as possible from the labyrinth-prison analogy. On the contrary it was created to amaze, surprise and welcome visitors. Bamboo plants are the undisputed protagonists of the garden: they are light but extremely resistant and soar upwards to surprising heights. Bambusa species are symbolically linked with many values and virtues. In Eastern tradition they metaphorically represent the conscience of upright men who remain steadfast while facing adversities. Furthermore many legends associate bamboo with perseverance and patience: only after developing strong and healthy roots can the plant grow elegantly and abundantly. The Labyrinth is made up of more than 200 000 different species that grow vigorously towards the sky, forming a maze of seemingly indistinguishable paths and dead ends. One can stop in the shade of this evergreen plant along the way, internalizing the bamboo’s symbolic meanings which remind us of the importance of being flexible yet resistant, versatile and patient. Intricate plays of lights and shadows as well as alternating colours accompany the visitor along a winding, alienating path. It leads to an unusual pyramid-shaped chapel at the centre of the labyrinth, where wider and brighter spaces abruptly spread out. Here the visitor can finally find his bearings and is guided towards the end of the route. The Labirinto della Masone is a place to visit at least once in a lifetime, not only for the site itself but also for the surrounding countryside. This genuine, real and anachronistic scenery was in fact much loved by photographer Luigi Ghirri. Livia Danese GALLERY Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO Info: Official website more botanical gardens and nurseries Parco Paterno del Toscano Orto Botanico di Ginevra Orto Botanico di Ginevra Centro Botanico Moutan Orto Botanico di Palermo Roseto di Roma Chicago Batanical Garden Giardino Esotico Pallanca

LOMBARDY VILLA MELZI GARDENS The geometrical taste of green Photographs Cristina Archinto Text Carla De Agostini I t was in 1808 that Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Duke of Lodi, Grand Councillor, Keeper of the Seals of the Kingdom of Italy and a personal friend of Napoleon's, decided to build his summer residence at Bellagio on land with a stupendous view of Lake Como. Thus Villa Melzi and its gardens were created, taking advantage of the natural terraces and the variety of views in which it is immersed, playing on the curved paths that cross the property throughout its extension and connect the points of interest, the architectural furnishings and the numerous sculptures with historical and mythological subjects placed among the rich vegetation. At the entrance to the property, in the direction of Bellagio, one reaches a small area laid out as an oriental garden, with a characteristic pond, surrounded by Japanese maples and camellias that create a brightly coloured ensemble. The garden alternates majestic century-old trees with exotic and rare species, grouped in wooded patches, planted in rows along the shore or isolated in the grassy carpet. The refined taste for the exotic that characterises the Villa Melzi Gardens finds its most graceful expression in the numerous species of historic camellias, now about 250, that can be admired in the park, especially near the two entrances, at Loppia and Bellagio. Many of them were born from seed and are mostly related to the main species of Camelia japonica, but a large number are cultivars of great historical-botanical interest, created in the nineteenth century. Villa Melzi also picks up the tradition of topiary art, which in Italy reached excellence in the late Renaissance. At that time, the taste and sensibility of Humanism, whose philosophy is based on the idea of Promethean man and his triumph over nature, inspired the creation of gardens carefully subordinated to the geometry of forms, then the rediscovery of the ars topiary with its pruning techniques to shape plants into decorative forms. This style has its roots in Roman times, with an influence from Greek art, when, in other words, thanks to the Empire, cultural trends were reunited and intertwined in the service of a new aesthetic. The first experiments were carried out in the new gardens of suburban villas, desired by aristocratic families. The Roman garden acquired an interweaving of poetry, sculpture and Hellenic painting, which gave rise to a truly new landscape composition, which would later become the basis of the Italian garden. In the gardens of Villa Melzi, symmetries can be appreciated, not only for their geometric taste but also to celebrate the beauty of the essential characteristics of nature itself: not only gardening but art, through the precise choice of colours and shapes, such as the umbrella pruning of the plane trees or the particular positioning of centuries-old trees and exotic species, where Ginkgo biloba, red beeches or camphor trees enhance the view around them, together with shrubs, rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. Love and precision stand out at Villa Melzi, in the care of the greenery, in the architectural variety of parapets, balustrades, marble busts, in the galleries of citrus trees, which create an unusual and fascinating play of geometries, in which to lose oneself without paying attention to the passing of time. THE CAMALLIA IN HISTORY In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera , the protagonist Fermina Daza refuses the camellia offered to her by Florentino saying that "it is a flower that pledges". And it was precisely as a pledge of love that camellias arrived in Italy in 1760, a gift from Admiral Nelson to Lady Emma Hamilton, who had them planted in the garden of the Royal Palace of Caserta. Very similar to the rose and large in size, the flowers of the camellia originate in China and Japan and belong to the Theaceae family. Ornamental camellias were immediately considered a rarity destined for the few, a display not only of power but also of refined tastes. Over time, the history of this flower has taken on many facets and meanings, but the most widespread is undoubtedly the symbol of love, devotion and esteem. The camellia achieved great fame with Alexandre Dumas' novel The Lady with the Camellias , first published in 1848, in which Marguerite Gautier was inspired by the courtesan Marie Duplessis, who used to pin a white or red camellia on her dress, depending on the season. This fashion shared by both men and women soon became a classy detail on the lapels of gentlemen and in the hair of ladies, and would remain pinned to their necklines for a long time. In 1923 Coco Chanel took to the catwalk for the first time dresses with broches (brooches) of white chiffon camellias, modelled on the Camelia japonica Alba plena , whose structure of overlapping petals is thought to have suggested to her the double C cross; in those same years Proust called them camélia à la boutonnière (Camellia in the buttonhole). Over time, the camellia went from being a flower of nobility and luxury to being more democratic, but in gardens it still retains its air of a refined flower. GALLERY Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO LINK Official website More Gardens and Parks Parco giardini di Sicurtà Parco giardini di Sicurtà Gairdino di Villa Lante Villa Lante parco del Flauto Magico Parco Flauto Magico Bomarzo Parco Villa la Grange Labirinto della Masone Giardino di Kenroku-en Giardino dell'impossibile

TOSCANY "Vie Cave" by CARLA DE AGOSTINI Pitigliano, together with Sovana and Sorano, is one of Tuscany's tuff cities. This charming mediaeval town, which stands on a steep spur of tufa, dominates the surrounding valleys from above, where the Prochio and Meleta rivers flow into the Lente. Originally a small independent duchy during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, it has come to be considered the little Jerusalem of the Maremma due to the pivotal role the Jews played in the life of the town, and because it has always been a centre of refuge in Central Italy. The earliest settlement probably originated in the 16th century by the Orsini counts. ​ In the valley that surrounds it, there are the Vie Cave, paths carved into the tufa along rocky slopes of volcanic origin, unique works of great historical and cultural importance that date back to the Etruscans. In Pitigliano alone, there are at least a dozen Vie cave, including the Pantano and San Lorenzo, which all vary in size. Up to a kilometre long, these paths are between two to four metres wide and up to twenty-five metres high. These winding and often interconnected paths are a mystery to scholars as there are no precise answers as to their use. Some hypothesise a sacred and funerary use, others claim they were connecting roads, defensive systems or even water drainage works. To date, the thesis on funerary routes seems to be the most widely accepted, because the semi-underground routes tend to coincide with the crossing of a necropolis. At the time of the Etruscans, the Vie Cave were lower, but as their use diversified, and they were increasingly used as shortcuts between villages and valleys, they became deeper and deeper. In fact, it has been calculated that the route that can be taken today is often more than ten metres lower. This difference is most probably due to various reconstruction works carried out over time, including further excavations to regularise the erosion of the road surface, which had been worn down and made uneven, particularly by the trampling of pack animals' hooves. As you walk along these paths, you can read the history of the place through signs left over time. You can find tombs and engravings from the Etruscan period, mediaeval inscriptions or signs of water regulation, dating up to the Christian era. Also present are the residues of "scacciadiavoli": niches containing sacred images that were intended to reassure travellers. But that's not all, there are signs testifying to pagan rites that have become traditional over time, such as the celebration of the 19th of March in the Via Cava di San Giuseppe: the event consisting of a night-time procession, during which burning bundles are carried to celebrate the arrival of spring. Another peculiarity is the microclimate produced between these vertiginous walls. In some places, the foliage of the trees has formed a sort of vegetal roof that has favoured the growth of vegetation typical of damp and shady environments, such as ferns, mosses, lichens, ivy and lianas, which create suggestive plays of light and contribute to their charm. Trad.Greta Sanna GALLERY Photo @ Cristina Archinto Highlights MOSSES Mosses belong to the large family of Bryophytes, Bryophyta, and are very primitive organisms but of great interest for understanding the study of the evolution of terrestrial plants. Mosses, which lack of vascular tissue, absorb and transport water by capillary way present on the whole plant, this characteristic prevents its growth in height, developing instead in soft green carpets that we find on rocks and trunks, even vertically. Mosses absorb well rain water and air which they retain even in summertime and in woods they are fundamental because they help seeds which fall from trees to germinate. Moreover, they absorb great quantities of CO2 and they are fundamental for the safeguard of the ecosystem and for biodiversity. MORE ENVIRONMENT AND BOTANY Vie cave opuntia fiorita Opuntia Trees Caño Cristales Palmeti Palm trees Caldara di Manziana Steep land Tiber