Thanks to Gelasio Caetani’s foresight, today we can enjoy the beauty of an English garden amongst the nicest of Europe, which was nominated in the year 2000 as one of “Italy’s Natural Monuments”. In 1921, the Caetani family restored a number of ruins in the ancient medieval city of Ninfa, a few kilo LAZIO NINFA A MARVELOUS GARDEN Thanks to Gelasio Caetani’s foresight, today we can enjoy the beauty of an English garden amongst the nicest of Europe, which was nominated in the year 2000 as one of “Italy’s Natural Monuments”. In 1921, the Caetani family restored a number of ruins in the ancient medieval city of Ninfa, a few kilometres away from Cisterna di Latina. Among these renovations was a baronial palace which was transformed into the family’s summer estate, as well as a garden at the foot of Mount Lepini. At the same time, Ada Wilbraham, Gelasio Caetani’s mother, who was an expert botanist, planted the first cypresses, holm oaks, beech trees and rosettes, which she had collected throughout the course of her vast international travels. The most credit must be given to Marguerite Chapin, Roffredo Caetani’s wife, and to her daughter, Leila. Starting in the early thirties the two ladies transformed Ninfa into a beautiful English garden, and chose to emphasize its natural beauty. The only exception were areas in which flower beds were planted, the land they grew on was left, to some extend to itself, consenting to the natural growth and cycle of plants. The blessed southern exposure, south of Ninfa, which is protected from the winds by the Lepini Mountains, is ornate with numerous karst springs and crossed by the River Ninfa, which have allowed the growth of tropical plants such as the banana, the avocado and the manned gunner from South America. As one strolls through the medieval ruins, he or she may encounter thousands of diverse and rare species worthy of note, such as poplars, birches, pines, cypresses, cherry trees, Japanese maples, hornets, acanthuses, ornamental apple trees, roaring rose bushes, magnolias, irises, bamboo shoots, camellias and honeysuckles. The particular plant choice is purposeful in the sense that it allows for a year round flowering, and allows for a self-serving caring process. Macerated nettle, lime, propolis and a variety of insectivorous birds make the garden of Ninfa a small heaven on earth. One must visit it at least once in his or her lifetime. GALLERY Info: www.fondazionecaetani.org Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO MORE GARDENS AND PARKS Parco del Paterno del Toscano Villa Lante Labirinto della Masone Villa d'Este Giardino di Kenroku-en Giardino dell'impossibile Villa Pizzo Castello di Masino

The Real Jardín Botánico in Madrid was inaugurated in 1755 and then moved to the Paseo del Prado by Carlos III in 1781. Today it boasts a collection of more than 6,000 species. The exhibited plants are organised on four terraces: the Terraza de los Cuadros, with ornamental roses, medicinal and aromatic plants; the Terraza de las Escuelas, with taxonomic collections; the Plano de la Flor, with varieties of trees and shrubs; the Terraza de los Bonsáis with an important collection of bonsai. SPAIN BOTANICAL GARDEN OF MADRID Discovering a New World Photographs of Cristina Archinto Text Carla De Agostini and Alessandra Valentinelli I n the centre of Madrid, there is a secluded place where it is still possible to enjoy nature and calm, in the shade of large trees and away from the urban chaos: the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid in Plaza de Murillo, a stone's throw from the Prado Museum. Full of evocative corners covering more than two centuries of history, the Botanical Garden is a living encyclopaedia open to anyone who wants to discover its plant treasures, with a collection of more than 6,000 species, most of which are of Mediterranean origin (southern Europe and North Africa) and from other areas with a similar climate, such as California, Argentina, Chile, South Africa and southern Australia. The Garden has always been a reference point for botanical research and knowledge, and under the aegis of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas , the Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research, it was declared a National Monument in 1947. The Garden was opened in 1755 and initially placed on the banks of the Manzanares River by order of Fernando VI, a botany enthusiast. Then, in 1781, Carlos III moved it to the Paseo del Prado where, designed by the architects Francisco Sabatin and Juan de Villanueva, to whom we also owe the Prado Museum and the Astronomical Observatory, the Real Jardín was arranged in different terraces inspired by the Paduan quarters: On the orthogonal plan of the Orchard, Sabatin and Villanueva placed circular fountains at the corners, then built a greenhouse pavilion, now the Villanueva Pavilion, the Herbarium, the Library and the Botanical Hall, as well as the Royal Gate, once the main entrance, in the classical style with Doric columns and pediment. Since its inception, the Real Jardín Botánico has been a privileged place for research and teaching. In fact, it has an immense cultural heritage, the fruit of scientific expeditions carried out during the 18th and 19th centuries, preserved in the Herbarium, Library and Archives. In 1755, Charles III of Bourbon decreed that the Real Jardín Botánico should be the place where all the materials from the scientific expeditions he promoted would converge. In ten years there were four such expeditions: to Chile and the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1777, to Colombia and New Granada in 1783, to New Spain in Mexico and Guatemala in 1787, and to the coasts and islands of the Pacific in 1789. The Garden became the final destination of a network of experts, technicians and researchers who brought drawings, herbaria, seeds and sometimes plants to Madrid. One of the last expeditions was that of Alessandro Malaspina, a captain in the Spanish navy, who sailed from Cadiz to Montevideo in 1789, touching Chile, Peru and Panama, and going as far as Vancouver, Manila and Macao. Returning to Spain in 1794, without the defence of the now deceased Charles III, he ended up imprisoned for his ideas of brotherhood between nations, and then exiled. In fact, Malaspina's philosophy transcends political and military conflicts, and he promotes an exchange of measuring and navigational instruments, books, observations and naturalistic knowledge, which is why he used to leave with a mixed crew, including Germans, French and Italians, accompanied by the best English and Bohemian instruments. Convinced that there is no 'land to discover but a world to know', the cartographers who map coastlines and islands with him then share them with the hydrographic offices in Paris and London. His naturalists, crossing the Andes, inventoried fossils and species with direct analyses that would later perfect the Linnean system. To date, the plants on display are organised on four terraces that take advantage of the irregularities of the terrain. At the corners of the quarters, i.e. the smaller squares inscribed in the geometric design of the individual terraces, are tall, towering trees that serve to refresh and distribute the plant groups. The first terrace is the lowest and most spacious of all, the Terraza de los Cuadros, where the collection of ornamental rose bushes, ancient medicinal and aromatic plants stand out, impregnating the air with unexpected scents along with the fruit trees. Here, the first plants to bloom in January are hellebores, followed by daffodils and crocuses. In April and May one can admire lilies, peonies and roses, and in the warmer summer months the beautiful dahlias appear, colouring the whole garden. The Terraza de los Cuadros is a catwalk of blooms, among the most pleasant in terms of scent and view, where one is always accompanied by the chirping of colourful species that, depending on the season, find solace in their favourite foliage. The second terrace, smaller than the previous one, houses the taxonomic collections of plants, which is why it is called Terraza de las Escuelas. The vegetation is arranged phylogenetically by families, so that the order of the plants can be traced from the most primitive to the most recent. Then there is the romantic-style Plano de la Flor, which houses a great variety of trees and shrubs planted in random order. The terrace is bordered by a wrought-iron pergola, made in 1786, with different varieties of vines, some of them of remarkable age. On the eastern side is the Villanueva Pavilion, built in 1781 as a greenhouse and currently used as a gallery for temporary exhibitions. It is an important centre for bringing the public closer to science and biodiversity through the creative and alternative languages of ever-changing artists. Many exhibitions seek inspiration in the Garden's own Archives and Herbaria, with the aim of creating a plant culture through the dissemination of a scientific didactic heritage as broad as that of the site. Finally, there is the Terraza de los Bonsáis, which houses a collection of bonsai trees donated in 1996 by former Prime Minister Felipe González, consisting of Asian and European species, mainly of Spanish flora, and expanded over time. On the north side is the Graells greenhouse, also known as Estufa de las Palmas, a wrought iron and glass greenhouse, built in 1856 under the direction of Mariano de la Paz Graells, the then director. This room mainly exhibits palm trees, tree ferns and banana specimens of the Musa genus. FEATURED PEONIES BETWEEN LEGEND AND REALITY Peonies, or Paeonia , have always been prized for their beautiful flowers that fill borders in shades of white, pink and red from late spring to mid-summer. Since antiquity, the Peony has been known for its miraculous virtues: its name derives from the Greek paionía, meaning 'healing plant', in reference to its roots with important healing, calming, antispasmodic, sedative and even pain-relieving properties, an etymology it shares not coincidentally with Paeon, Peon, the Greek God of Medicine. A well-known Greek legend has it that it was Zeus who transformed Paeon into a beautiful, immortal flower, to save him from the wrath and envy of the master who had seen himself outwitted in the treatment of Hades. The peony has been competing for millennia with the rose for the title of most beautiful in the kingdom, and in China it is officially the winner with the appellation 'Queen of Flowers'. The story goes that more than 2000 years ago, Empress Wu Tutian, who was very beautiful but also very despotic, ordered all the flowers in her kingdom to bloom one winter morning. Fearing her wrath, the flowers agreed to comply: all except one, the peony. Furious at this proud refusal, the empress gave orders for every specimen to be uprooted and exiled to high, snow-covered mountains. The plant withstood the frost and bloomed magnificently in the spring. At that point, Wu Tutian recognised its strength and revoked its exile, giving it the royal title. The peony referred to in the ancient Chinese legend is the shrub peony, which is very rare in nature, and culturally for the Chinese, rarity coincides with preciousness. This is why a supernatural origin is attributed to it: in the Huashan Mountain Nature Reserve, 'Mountain of Flowers', from hua flower and shan mountain, in the Chinese region of Shaanxi, there are pavilions depicting the birth of the peony as the fruit of the union between a farmer and a goddess who gave him one as a pledge of love, before returning to the heavens. In antiquity, it was the exclusive privilege of the imperial family and the mandarin nobility to be able to cultivate it in their gardens, whereas today its aristocratic beauty is within everyone's reach. In European gardens it arrived in 1789, after a long voyage on an English ship only five plants managed to take root in Kew Garden for the first time that year. Links Moutan Botanical Center GALLERY Info: Official website Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO more botanical gardens and nurseries 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 Centro Botanico Moutan Orto Botanico di Palermo

It was the year 1638 when the plague hit Amsterdam and medicinal plants represented the only known way to cure and prevent it. It was for this reason that in that same year was born the Hortus Medicus, a training place where doctors and pharmacists met to learn and share their botanical and medical knowledge, enriching the collection of medicinal plants. 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

The Villa Taranto botanical gardens are a true botanic gallery, with thousands of species of plants and flowers from all over the world. Eucalyptus, azaleas, rhododendrons, magnolias, camellias, dahlias, tulips, lotus flowers, heathers, hydrangeas, numerous tropical plants and even rare specimens. PIEDMONT BOTANICAL GARDENS OF VILLA TARANTO A walk between aesthetics and botany The putti fountain Photographs Cristina Archinto Text Carla De Agostini I n 1930, Scottish-born captain Neil Boyd Watson McEacharn, who had known Italy since childhood, reads an advertisement for sale in The Times and discovered that the Contessa di Sant'Elia's property is on sale. Intrigued, he immediately goes to see it; he has been looking for land for more than two years to build a large garden of his own. Impressed by its potential he immediately buys it and the following year settles in the villa on Lake Maggiore. He first changed its name: from La Crocetta to Villa Taranto, in honour of one of his ancestors who had been named Duke of Taranto by Napoleon Bonaparte, and then began hard work on the garden in order to create diversified but at the same time harmonious and original microclimates. The Terraced Gardens Today, Villa Taranto is a veritable gallery of botanical art, with thousands of species of plants and flowers from all over the world: the 8,500 species surveyed by McEacharn himself in 1963 now number almost 20,000. Eucalyptus trees, azaleas, rhododendrons, magnolias, maples, camellias, dahlias, tulips, lotus flowers, heathers, hydrangeas, numerous tropical plants and even rare specimens are distributed in thematic zones such as the Conifer Avenue, the Tree Ferns Valley the Giardino all'Italiana, the Giardino delle Eriche, the Labyrinth of Dahlias, the Greenhouses of Tropical Plants where Victoria Cruziana and Amazonica are cultivated, which arrived at the Villa in 1956 from the Stockholm Botanical Garden. The Captain's plants come from all over the world, especially from the rich English nurseries, the Royal Gardens of Kew, Edinburgh and the Royal Horticultural Society. But also from France, Germany, Spain, Eastern Europe, Japan, South Africa, the United States and Australia. They are joined by Italian floriculturists, such as Countess Senni of Rome, founder of the Italian society 'Amici dei fiori' (Friends of Flowers), who gave him numerous varieties of irises, and Prince Borromeo, who in 1949 donated two rare plants of Metasequoia glyptostroboides to the Villa The area of succulents The valley Today, Villa Taranto is a veritable gallery of botanical art, with thousands of species of plants and flowers from all over the world: the 8,500 species surveyed by McEacharn himself in 1963 now number almost 20,000. Eucalyptus trees, azaleas, rhododendrons, magnolias, maples, camellias, dahlias, tulips, lotus flowers, heathers, hydrangeas, numerous tropical plants and even rare specimens are distributed in thematic zones such as the Conifer Avenue, the Tree Ferns Valley the Giardino all'Italiana, the Giardino delle Eriche, the Labyrinth of Dahlias, the Greenhouses of Tropical Plants where Victoria Cruziana and Amazonica are cultivated, which arrived at the Villa in 1956 from the Stockholm Botanical Garden. The Captain's plants come from all over the world, especially from the rich English nurseries, the Royal Gardens of Kew, Edinburgh and the Royal Horticultural Society. But also from France, Germany, Spain, Eastern Europe, Japan, South Africa, the United States and Australia. They are joined by Italian floriculturists, such as Countess Senni of Rome, founder of the Italian society 'Amici dei fiori' (Friends of Flowers), who gave him numerous varieties of irises, and Prince Borromeo, who in 1949 donated two rare plants of Metasequoia glyptostroboides to the Villa The fern with the Dicksonia antarctica Strolling around Villa Taranto, one cannot help but be enchanted by never-before-seen plants such as the beautiful Pterostyrax hispidus, commonly known as the epaulette tree, as the flowers resemble the epaulettes that adorned soldiers' clothes. These beautiful clusters of flowers swaying in the breeze attract many birds and give off a delicate fragrance, or the Emmenopterys henryi of the Rubiaceae family, a white-flowered tree that can be up to a thousand years old and is native to the temperate areas of central and southern China and Vietnam. Also in the fern valley you can admire the Dicksonia antarctica tree ferns native to eastern Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand, which resemble dancers. To conclude, strolling through the garden of Villa Taranto is something that really leaves its mark and takes you through shapes, fragrances and the world in a sublime setting. Pterostyrax hispidus THE BLOSSOMING OF RHODODENTRONS Rhododendron flowers are famous for their bright colouring, appreciated since ancient Greece, where they were known as the 'rose tree', from rhodon, rose and dendron, tree. They can be flat, bell-shaped or funnel-shaped and in some varieties, may be slightly perfumed. Very fascinating is their flowering: several flowers are produced from each bud, usually six or seven, each consisting of five petals and the anther, which contains the pollen. This grouping is technically a corymb, i.e. a regular cluster of buds at the end of the branch. The term is derived from the Latin corymbus, 'cluster inflorescence', borrowed from the Greek kórymbos, 'highest part, top'. This phenomenon allows the blossomed flowers to be all at the same height, as for example the elderberry. The rhododendron is a member of the Ericaceae family, like azaleas, and is a plant native to the Orient that loves cool, moist conditions. The oldest records of the rhododendron's existence take us back to 400 B.C., to Xenophon's soldiers who, returning from Babylon, camped in the hills of Armenia and almost ended up being poisoned by honey made from the nectar of the poisonous Asiatic wild species. The first wild and later cultivated species was the Rhododendron hirsutum also known as the 'alpine rose', of which there are records as early as 1500. GALLERY Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO LINK Official website More Gardens and Parks 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 Labirinto della Masone Giardino di Kenroku-en

The Botanical Garden of Palermo was inaugurated in 1795 with the aim of contributing to the development of botanical and medical sciences in the Sicilian city. In the oldest sector of the Garden the plants are still arranged according to the classification system of Linnaeus. SICILY Botanical Garden of Palermo BY MARGHERITA LOMBARDI The Botanical Garden of Palermo is located next to Villa Giulia, bordering the Kalsa district. In 1779, to accompany the newly founded Accademia di Regi studi, which had annexed the chair of Botany and Medical Matters, a small botanical garden was created, adjacent to the Porta di Carini, but became insufficient for the needs of the chair, in 1786 it was transferred to its present location. Between 1789 and 1795 the main buildings were built, the Gymnasium and the two lateral bodies of the Tepidarium and the Calidarium, in neoclassical style, designed by the French architect Leon Dufurny. Originally the garden, enriched with pools and fountains and a magnificent Aquarium, was divided into rectangular plots to divide the collections according to Linnaeus' system, but in the early nineteenth century it was modified. The Garden was still enlarged in later periods, and a grove of exotic plants and the Winter Garden, for example, was created in a large greenhouse. In the 1930s it acquired its definitive appearance, with the entrance area divided into regular areas and the southern area furrowed by more articulated paths. The collections. The Botanical Garden of Palermo hosts, in total, 12,000 species, mainly from South Africa, Australia and South America. Among these, there are the giant specimen of Ficus macrophylla, symbol of the Garden, the collection of marsh plants that includes lotuses (Nelumbum nucifera), water lilies and papyrus (Cyperus papyrus); the palms of the genus Phoenix spp., Cycads; species belonging to the families Moracee, Mimosacee, Rutacee, Euphorbiacee, Aizoacee, Asclepiadacee, Liliacee, Crassulacee and Cactacee, citrus fruits and a fragrant collection of plumerie, a plant as widespread in Palermo as medlar is on the terraces and gardens of northern cities. Among the botanical curiosities are Sapindus mukorossi, Pimenta acris, Coffea arabica, Ficus sycomorus, Mimosa spegazzinii, Crescentia alata, Saccharum officinarum, Manihot utilissima and Carica papaya. The Botanical Garden of Palermo is responsible for the introduction and diffusion in Mediterranean countries of Citrus deliciosa and Eriobotrya japonica. You can admire substantial collections of dried plants that are preserved in the Herbarium Mediterraneum. Every year a catalogue is published of seeds of both wild plants from Sicily and cultivated in the Garden, available for exchanges with scientific institutions from all continents. The tallest plant in the Garden is an annual Araucaria columnaris . Spectacular the avenue enclosed by large specimens Ceiba speciosa (formerly Chorisia speciosa). Margherita Lombardi GALLERY Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO Info: Italian Botanical Heritage Italian Botanical Trips Palermo Botanical Garden more botanical gardens and nurseries Orto Botanico di Ginevra Orto Botanico di Ginevra Roma Roseto di Roma Chicago Chicago Batanical Garden Giardino Esotico Pallanca Parco Botanico Villa Rocca Water Nursery Giardino Botanico di Hanbury

There is a Jardin des Plantes in Nantes that is 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 sailors and explorers, has brought truly remarkable botanical specimens from all over the world to this day. 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

Water Nursery Latina The Water Nursery, albeit being the most extensive Italian collection for wetland vegetation, is also an endeavour that narrates about the land’s history and through this itself sustains itself, transforming complex environmental conditions into botanical creations of amazing b LAZIO LATINA Where the Water Lilies grow The Water Nursery, albeit being the most extensive Italian collection for wetland vegetation, is also an endeavour that narrates about the land’s history and through this it self sustains itself, transforming complex environmental conditions into botanical creations of amazing beauty. From the passion of the owner, Mr Davide La Salvia a passion born over the years amid the marshlands of Agro Pontino, it then developed into what we have today, also thanks to his son Valerio. This collection comprises of over 1500 wetland and aquatic plants from all over the world. If on the one hand, the enterprise is run for commercial purposes - the nursery attends to important Italian botanical gardens - on the other hand, the passion underlying the whole project makes Water Nursery one of the most valuable research and experimentation locations for aquatic plants in Europe. If the cataloguing work - the compilation of an index plantarum of the species present is among the priorities - there is also the collaboration with universities and botanical gardens. Among the many cultivated rarities, there is the autochthonous Nymphaea alba , also known as European white water lily (now down to just a few specimens), the less common varieties of irises such as Pseudocorus flore pleno , bastardi, donau , berlin tiger variegato, or the spectacular irises from Louisiana, the Asian water lily Euryale Ferox with its big thorny leaves, the Victoria Cruziana with its typical rimmed leaves and large white flower, the Nymphaea Lotus (that blooms at night and was sacred to the Egyptians), or the lotus flowers such as Nelumbo Nucifera , sacred to the Asians. Water Nursery 1/3 Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO Info: www.waternursery.it MORe botanical gardens and Nurseries Orto Botanico di Ginevra Centro Botanico Moutan Orto Botanico di Palermo Roseto di Roma Chicago Batanical Garden Giardino Esotico Pallanca Parco Botanico Villa Rocca Giardino Botanico di Hanbury

Nowadays we have the possibility of taking a thousand photos for the price of one, and so, for fear of losing even a single detail, we find ourselves overwhelmed by too many pixels that, when put together, no longer reflect the fulcrum of our story. Max 10 shots wants to emphasize that, if the photographs are relevant and with a strong subjective connotation, even 10 shots are enough for a good photographic story. PHOTOGRAPHY MAX 10 SHOTS Nowadays it is possible to take a thousand photos for the price of one, and so for fear of losing even a single detail we find ourselves overwhelmed by too many pixels which, when put together, no longer reflect the focus of our story. Max 10 shots aims to emphasise that, if the photographs are relevant and have a strong subjective connotation, even 10 shots are enough for a good photographic story. WILTSHIRE - United Kindom ENGLISH LANDSCAPES Oscar Wilde used to say: "Everyone can be good in the country", and he was right. Especially when it comes to the English countryside, or rather the countryside. The greenery, or rather the complex of greenery, the fences, the sheep, the rows of trees, the lonely houses, the fields with their groves and small streams, are an exhausting source of true natural pleasure. To give depth to a "flat landscape" it is useful to have one or more vanishing points, perhaps with the help of a fence or path campge inglesi GROSSETO - Toscany TUSCAN HILLS When you walk through the hills of Grosseto, you always have the impression that you are being watched by the majestic oaks that stand out against the blue sky between a field of olive trees, a field of pasture or vineyards. They are wonderful sentinels in the rolling Tuscan hills. To portray trees well, it is important to have a neutral background such as the sky colline toscane CORNIGLIA/VERNAZZE - Liguria A WALK IN THE CINQUE TERRE The walks along the paths between one village and another in the Cinque Terre are a succession of highs and lows, olive groves, flower-filled meadows, dry stone walls, overhanging paths and breathtaking views of the entire coastline. "A theatre whose proscenium opens onto the void, on the strip of sea high against the sky crossed by winds and clouds", is how Italo Calvino described the Cinque Terre. To tell the story of a landscape, one must learn to look at it from several angles, perhaps even from behind. Cinqu terre ASSISI-Umbria THE FOREST OF SAN FRANCESCO In Assisi, among the silence and beauty of woods, flowering branches, glades and olive groves, stands the San Francesco's wood. An evocative place of pilgrimage but also of reflection on the peaceful coexistence between man and nature, inspired by the teachings of harmony of St. Francis. And it is here that Michelangelo Pistoletto created "Third Paradise ", a work of Land Art with olive trees. "The two outer circles, " Pistoletto writes, "represent all the diversities and antinomies, including nature and artifice. The central one is the interpenetration between the opposite circles and represents the generative womb of the new humanity". Maintaining the same colour tones in several photographs is a bonding element in a service bosco disan francesco Lazio CALDARA OF MANZIANA A lunar plain, with some geysers of sulphurous water, which gently plunges into a basin surrounded by fascinating birches. The day was particularly sunny, with a beautiful clear light and the white of the trunks with the brown of the resting ferns, made an intense contrast with the full blue sky. The trees in the grove were almost all straight as spindles, more or less all of the same size, every now and then one could see a fallen one that suddenly cut this graphic rhythm in two as if it were one of those abstract paintings from the 60s. When you looked up, the delicate foliage of the birch melted into the blue of the sky and only the fruits in the shape of pendulous cones and perhaps a few sporadic leaves remained there alone were visible. At the bottom of the basin flowed this river with an indescribable color that went from blue to red and finally to white, where the white trunks created soft reflections as if they had been painted on a canvas. Knowing that birch trees are not normally found at this latitude gave this landscape even more a touch of magic as well as unique. Seeing nature abstractly Caldara ROME-Lazio ROSE GARDEN Some shots taken at the rose garden in Rome The Rose Garden is home to around 1,100 varieties of ancient and modern botanical roses from all over the world. The cultivated specimens come from all over the world: from the Far East to South Africa, from Old Europe to New Zealand, passing through the Americas. Blur the background, opening the lens wide and automatically increasing the time a lot, makes the flowers stand out a lot Roseto TURIN-Piedmont VALENTINO PARK The Valentino park develops along the banks of the Po river and has a great variety of trees. In autumn the colors are remarkable especially at the first light of the day, when the sun is cutting and slips into it the trees, or rests on the crowns of trees. Shoot against the sun using natural elements to filter the light parco del vlentino

In order to highlight the different aspects of the botanical universe and to exalt the most typical characteristics of the natural contexts, Terrimago edition produces photographic books with attention to every detail, also translated into several languages and enhanced by the work of expert typographers. Terrimago edition distributes the books in specialized bookshops and organizes book presentations during events in the field. Terrimago edition Terrimago edition creates detailed and refined photographic books, translated into multiple languages and enhanced by the work of expert typographers. Their aim is to highlight the different aspects of the botanical universe and enhance the most typical characteristics of natural environments. Terrimago edition also delivers its publications to specialized bookstores and organizes book presentations during botanical-related events. Furthermore, Terrimago edition develops co-production publications. After choosing interesting titles and themes, Terrimago edition reaches out to some of the most fascinating botanical environments, selected for their distinct qualities, and offers them the opportunity to collaborate in the creation of a specific publication. Terrimago edition takes care of all the necessary processes for the complete realization of a photographic book, starting from the attention and care given to the photographic shoots and throughout the editing, the printing and the distribution phases. Promotion is essential to the enhancement of a natural setting and to let each environment grow outside its natural borders. It is with this knowledge that Terrimago edition creates co-producted publications. They represent a unique opportunity for everyone to promote their gardens and botanical environments in the most advantageous way possible. Last works of Terrimago edition

Today, Vivai Cuba in Fontane Bianche, near Syracuse, stands out as one of the richest succulent nurseries in Europe. Here they grow plants from their own seeds, both in pots and in the field, and supply plants to wholesalers, retailers, architects, landscape architects, garden designers, interior designers and event organisers at an international level. SICILY One of the nursery greenhouses Vivai Cuba and the Mother Plant Garden Photographs of Cristina Archinto Text Carla De Agostini T hirty years ago Mariolina's mother used to say to her husband 'but who would buy all these thorns?' Fortunately, the answer was not long in coming and today Vivai Cuba in Fontane Bianche, near Syracuse, stands out as one of the richest succulent nurseries in Europe. Here they grow plants from their own seeds, both in pots and in the field, supply plants to wholesalers, retailers, architects, landscape architects, garden designers, interior designers and event organisers at an international level. All this within a framework of protection and respect for water, increasingly important in these years, and with attention to the circumstances of a rapidly changing planet. The Mother Plant Garden inside the nursery A unique place, not only the greenhouses but also the garden, Vivai Cuba was born in the 1960s out of the passion for roses and bulbs, which then flowed into strelitzias, kenzie, cycads and palms of lawyer Antonio Palermo, Mariolina's father. The story of this place begins with Antonio getting in touch with a Dutch bulb company, with whom the collaboration became more and more intense, until the families became friends. After a while, the father gave up flowers in the 1970s and was among the first to buy and sow Euphorbia, Agave, Aloe, Dasilirion and Yucca plants, gradually expanding the varieties of succulents cultivated. Agave area In the meantime, love blossoms between the two partners' children, Mariolina and Pieter, and together they begin seed procurement trips around the world. The young people begin to specialise more and more in cactus cultivation and are won over by the larger specimens, over time creating a unique collection of succulents that are ideal for low-water garden projects. These include non-traditional trees such as Moringa, Chorisia, Bombax, Brachychiton and Dracaena Draco. On the left a flowering specimen of Dasylirion , on the right Kigelia africana In the nursery, all these specimens can be seen in the Mother Plant Garden, an 'exhibition space' where it is possible to study allochthonous plants that grow outdoors and adapt to become almost native species. Seeds and cuttings of the plants considered most interesting for nursery production are also collected here. The Mother Plant Garden with the Sapindus mukorossi tree on the right The Mother Plant Garden is also a diverse reservoir of already existing species and new varieties derived from spontaneous crosses. A very interesting plant is Sapindus mukorossi, the soap nut tree, native to India. With a high saponin content, says Mariolina, the peel is an excellent organic detergent, which can be used instead of commercial products, both for laundry hygiene and for personal care! The tree is also beautiful from an ornamental point of view and is cultivated in Italy in only a few places. Walking around you can also come across a beautiful specimen of Euphorbia tirucalli, which resembles a coral, also known as 'sticks on fire' or 'red pencil tree'. It is a very decorative plant: it consists of long, soft, cylindrical stems, completely smooth with colouring that starts in light green and ends in a very striking orange-red at the tips. Euphorbia flowers among the thorns of the Stenocereus thurberi cactus The scenery one encounters while strolling through this garden alternates the physical bearing of large specimens with the softness of thinner plants, the colours flowing indifferently from the largest to the smallest and most insidious thorns. One only has to look around to be amazed by the violent lines of the cacti that suddenly become flowers, evoking not prickly emotions but rather delicate sensations. Euphorbia tirucalli The family recounts that these mother plants are the foundations for the very life of Cuba Nurseries: they have individual stories that intersect with personal adventures, with time forged by the weather of the place and people, through generations. They are part of a past that at the same time tells of the present and future of a garden that represents an increasingly arid and globalised planet. Here, research and collaboration combined with great care give rise to a rich diversity of succulent plants and an incomparable landscape, creating an unprecedented ecosystem that encompasses all the continents in just a few hectares. Young specimens of Echinocactus including the first flowering specimen After a tour of the garden, Mariolina allows visitors to browse through the greenhouses with the most diverse varieties of cacti, lined up like diligent toy soldiers, almost as if looking at an abstract work of art. A marvel. Here one can also observe the phenomenon of 'synchronous flowering': when one cactus flowers, all the others around it do so at the same time. This strategic choice constitutes a common 'fitness' advantage: when more plants flower at the same time, more mates arrive and consequently more mating opportunities are available for the individual plants. This also occurs due to adverse climatic conditions, the stressed seedling flourishes in such a way as to increase its species' chance of survival. The stress suffered by one is also communicated, via chemical components, to the others, which follow suit and flower at the same time. Nature's magic. Synchronous flowering phenomenon In conclusion, with the intention of spreading a culture of xerophilous plants, i.e. those adapted to live in environments characterised by long periods of drought or arid climates, Vivai Cuba has succeeded in creating a wonderful and varied succulent garden, unique and unrepeatable, where anyone can look and learn from the greatest teachers of the earth the values of adaptability, resilience and sustainability. Adenium multiflorum also known as Impala lily GALLERY Photo ©CRISTINA ARCHINTO LINKS Official site FEATURED FUGA IN SICILY Inside the Cuba Nurseries is Helena Medrano's atelier, a textile herbarium inspired by the essential forms of the natural elements that surround it. In the enormous Syracuse garden of succulent and exotic plants, Helena arrived eleven years ago, driven by continuous artistic research. Here, the cultural and botanical wealth that surrounds her led her two years ago to the conception of design objects created with plants, then to the realisation of the Fuga in Sicily project. In her workshop, she creates tapestries and tablecloths using the monotype technique: on natural fabrics, mainly hemp, linen or cotton, she chooses the plant or leaf, covers it with ink, then with the press transfers the plant design to the fabric or piece of paper she wishes to produce. In her atelier, objects and materials are exclusively vegetable: the weave of the fabric and the direct printing technique of the plant give a feeling of elegance and simplicity as only natural things can do, and the design pieces are unique and original. Among his creations are cushions made of an antique hemp from 1930, printed directly using Kentia leaves in their characteristic green colour. In this journey out of the ordinary, Helena continues to experiment with plants: art and botany are intertwined, in something always new, such as tiaras or succulent bouquets, tailored to the wishes of future brides. Link Victoria Greenhouse More botanic gardens and nurseries Orto Botanico di Berlino Orto botanico di Madrid Orto botanico di Amsterdam Orto botanico di Napoli Giardino Botanico Nuova Gussonea Orto Botanico di Catania Orto Botanico di Ginevra Centro Botanico Moutan