10 green travels among the most beautiful parks in Italy

The Scientific Committee of the Most Beautiful Park has declared the “Top Ten” of the Parks of Italy: gardens, parks, botanical gardens, vegetation sculptures, hedge mazes represent a real and valuable heritage.

Italy is full of wonderful places. But which are the most beautiful parks and gardens in the country? Let’s discover together these 10 Italian jewels through a North-South trip of the peninsula, perfect for our next green holidays.

Incredible colors in Piedmont

Inside the natural park of Oasi Zegna (Biella, Piedmont), about 5 kilometers from Trivero, there’s the Conca dei Rododendri. The best time to visit it is between May and June, when rhododendrons bloom, transforming the basin into a palette of colors of extraordinary beauty.

Our advice: In the heart of the city of Biella, not far from the Conca, there’s the B&B Cascina Belsito, an ancient Piedmont farmhouse surrounded by greenery.

Info: Oasi Zegna

One of the historic gardens of Italy

We are in Pegli, district of Genoa. In front of us, a beautiful park, considered one of the greatest expressions of a nineteenth-century romantic garden. What makes this unique place unique is the fact that it develops through a theatrical tale articulated into three acts, each consisting of four scenes featuring lakes, streams, waterfalls and rare plants.

Our advice: in the heart of that part of the historical center of Genoa that Unesco has declared “Heritage of Humanity” there’s Hotel Cairoli, an environmentally friendly hotel that offers comfortable rooms and great breakfast.

Info: Villa Durazzo Pallavicini

Between nature and architecture a few steps from Milan

Among the most beautiful and majestic villas of Milan, Villa Arconati is a heritage of great historical, cultural, and architectural value. The Villa is located in the Groane Park and is defined as the small Versailles thanks to the immense French garden surrounding it. Walking along with the tree-lined Viale dei Leoni you can admire the immense charm of this place.

Our advice: in Milan, not far from the Villa, you can stay in an eco-friendly B&B surrounded by greenery. B&B D’Eco offers organic breakfast and a beautiful garden.

Info: Villa Arconati

A regal eighteenth-century mansion and an incredible garden

A few kilometers from Parma we can visit the gardens of the beautiful Colorno Palace, whose first plant dates back to 1480. Initially it was an Italian garden with flowerbeds, pergolas, hedges, labyrinths and inside citrus fruits and fruit plants. It was in the years enriched by imposing fountains, marble sculptures, caves and lakes.

Our advice: the B&B Al Battistero d’Oro awaits you in Parma, a romantic private residence just a few steps from the Cathedral, with a breakfast of fresh and natural products.

Info: Colorno Palace

A garden in the heart of Val d’Orcia

The Garden la Foce was realized between 1924 and 1939 and is considered the masterpiece of the English architect Cecil Pinsent. The garden, with its lemons, roses, hedges, develops on a hillside, overlooking the valley. Like other Renaissance parks, the garden is more geometric around the villa, and more and more natural approaching the woods.

Our advice: Val d’Orcia is an enchanted place to be discovered slowly. Among the many possible itineraries, we recommend this, starting from San Quirico and arriving at Radicofani, along Via Francigena.

Info: Garden La Foce

A literary garden

The second half of the rank of most beautiful parks in Italy starts with the Garden Portoghesi, in Calcata, in Lazio. It is a garden of three hectares, which over the years has become a literary garden. Inside there are a hundred laws with literary and philosophical texts related to the environments and images that come together.

Our advice: not far from the garden, you can stay in the green of the Roman Tuscia at Casacocò, a delightful bed and breakfast surrounded by a beautiful park with a 18 meter pool.

An old residence in Pesaro

Immersed in the nature of Colle San Bartolo Park, a few kilometers from the city, we find the Villa Imperiale. The residence dates back to the 15th century and is an oasis of peace where nature and architecture harmoniously intertwine.

Our advice: right in the natural park, the San Cristoforo of Vallugola farmhouse invites you to spend a natural holiday, in the name of relaxation.

Info: this villa can be visited only in summer, subject to reservation.

Anglo-Saxon botanical culture in the Amalfi Coast

Villa Cimbrone is located in Ravello, a town on the Amalfi Coast. Now it has become a hotel, but the park of about six hectares has remained intact, with its native and exotic vegetation, its fountains, temples and pavilions. The view from here is stunning.

Our advice: anyone visiting the Amalfi Coast (and not suffering from dizziness) must walk the path of Gods, one of the most beautiful routes in the world.

Info: Villa Cimbrone

An outdoor historical museum

Among the most beautiful parks for 2017 there’s also the Garibaldi Compendium of Caprera, Sardinia. It was the last residence of Giuseppe Garibaldi. Here, beyond the tomb of Garibaldi and the family cemetery, there is also a wonderful garden with Mediterranean and exotic plants, some of which were planted by Garibaldi himself.

Info: Garibaldi Compendium

Avenues of holm oaks in Sicily

The last of the most beautiful Parks in Italy is the main green area of ​​Caltagirone. The Vittorio Emanuele Public Garden, modeled on the English parks, is a 10-hectare green island of particular beauty, characterized by an unusual richness of vegetation.

Cover photo by Adrian Scottow via Flickr

Book your stay here

Casacoco' – Green Farm house in Manziana, Roma, Italia, IT

B&B Al Battistero d'Oro – Green Bed & Breakfast in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, IT

B&B D'Eco Milano – Green Bed & Breakfast in Milano, Lombardia, IT