On the twentieth anniversary of the rescue, guided tours of the famous Alassio Botanical Park, in western Liguria, return starting Friday, March 20th.
The Gardens, already awarded "The Most Beautiful Park in Italy" and Partner Garden of the Royal Horticultural Society, are ready to amaze with the wisteria, which forms the most important Italian collection here.
Starting Friday, March 20, the Gardens of Villa della Pergola in Alassio reopen to the public with daily guided tours.
In a triumph of color and scent, Italy's most important wisteria collection begins to bloom: over 40 varieties envelop visitors along the route, creating evocative displays among pergolas and unforgettable views, in a natural setting unparalleled in Italy.
Villa della Pergola and its Gardens are today a symbol of a concrete commitment to preserving and enhancing the historical and landscape heritage of Western Liguria and the RIviera.
The existence of this place is inextricably linked to the visionary and "crazy" act of love enacted by Silvia and Antonio Ricci exactly twenty years ago. In 2006, they saved the complex from a potential real estate speculation project, preserving a unique historical, natural, and cultural heritage that would otherwise have been lost and forgotten.
Today, the Gardens represent one of Liguria's finest attractions and an internationally recognized destination: considered a must-see, they are the custodians of a history and heritage of extraordinary value.
This incredible 20-year journey has also been confirmed and supported by the world's most prestigious horticultural institution, the Royal Horticultural Society, which has included the Gardens of Villa della Pergola in Alassio among their Partner Gardens.
THE MOST IMPORTANT WISTERIA COLLECTION IN ITALY AND ITS HISTORY
The famous wisteria collection returns, now the most important in Italy, certified by the SOI, with over 40 different varieties.
Enthusiasts and visitors from across Europe and the world choose this time of year to admire the blooms. After the Villas and Park were saved in 2006 by the Ricci family, whose twentieth anniversary is celebrated this year, with the invaluable guidance of landscape architect Paolo Pejrone, the decision was made to highlight and celebrate these flowers and their history.
New pergolas were restored and created to replenish the wisteria collection, which has always had a profound connection with Villa della Pergola: these flowers were much loved by the renowned Scottish and English families who successively owned this property and celebrated their blooms. The Dalrymples still preserve photo albums from the early 1900s, with shots captioned "Wisteria Showing," testifying to the blooming wisteria on the main staircase, now centuries-old and still offering a unique spectacle. For the Hanbury family, this represented a very important and symbolic moment, so much so that they celebrated it every year with a long-awaited "Wisteria Party," organized by Ruth, Daniel's second wife, and attended by the city authorities of Alassio and the English community.