All Natural attractions

Villa Comunale is the largest public park in Trani, located in the eastern part of the town’s harbour. The park is a green oasis which offers locals and visitors a refreshing escape from the bustling town. Known for its scenic views and diverse plant life, Villa Comunale is widely considered one of the most enchanting parks in southern Italy.   SHORT HISTORY OF VILLA COMUNALE Villa Comunale was inaugurated in 1824, and subsequently expanded thanks to the reclamation of the land immediately to the south, on the coast, in the area called Canneto. It was listed among the most beautiful public gardens in southern Italy in the 1937 edition of the Treccani Encyclopedia. On the central avenue of the park, located in front of the main entrance, there is the war memorial, sculpted in 1923 by Antonio Bassi. Walking along the avenue you come across a 19th-century chalet, home to exhibitions and cultural initiatives curated by local artists, and a bandstand, built in 1888 and recently restored and made functional again. In the avenues on the right are collected six milestones of the ancient Via Traiana, coming from the Ruvo-Canosa section.   DESCRIPTION OF VILLA COMUNALE Villa Comunale extends over Read more [...]

The Royal Gardens of Turin (Giardini Reali di Torino) is a park in Turin, located near the Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale), in the historical center of the city.   SHORT HISTORY OF THE ROYAL GARDENS OF TURIN The history of the Royal Gardens of Turin began in 1563, the year in which Emmanuel Philibert transferred the capital of the Duchy of Savoy from Chambéry to Turin. During the time of Carlo Emanuele I and his son, Vittorio Amedeo I of Savoy, the gardens undergone considerable expansions. However, the current the arrangement of the gardens is largely the work of the architect André Le Nôtre, from the second half of the 17th century. During the Napoleonic period, the gardens have fallen into disrepair. The dark period of the park ended only in 1805, when the gardens became part of the Imperial Park. Following a persistent state of deterioration in the 20th century, the long restoration works of the gardens were completed in July 2021.   DESCRIPTION OF THE ROYAL GARDENS OF TURIN The Royal Gardens of Turin are delimited by Corso San Maurizio to the north, Via Gioacchino Rossini to the east, and Piazza Castello to the south. The gardens are Read more [...]

Parco Querini is a public park in Vicenza, located in the northern part of the historical center of the city. The park takes its name from a building located in the immediate vicinity, a noble residence first owned by the Capra family, then purchased by the Querini family.   SHORT HISTORY At the beginning of the 19th century, a document reports that the area of the current park, owned by the Capra family, included meadows, vineyards and vegetable gardens. In 1811, Antonio Capra, notary and councilor of Vicenza, bought from the Municipality the former monastery of the Poor Clares of Araceli. In 1813, the monastery disappeared and in its place are indicated an orchard, a garden and greenhouses, a sign that the new owner intended to expand and embellish the garden. In 1821, a long avenue was built that leads to a circular hillock dominated by a small round temple surrounded by water. In 1969, 9.5 hectares were expropriated by the Municipality, and two years later the area was opened to the public as a city park.   DESCRIPTION Parco Querini is surrounded on two sides by the banks of the Bacchiglione River and its tributary Astichello. From the back Read more [...]

Villa Belvedere, officially known as Giardino Vittorio Emanuele III, is the largest public garden of Acireale, located in the northern part of the town, in Piazza Indirizzo, at the end of Corso Italia.   SHORT HISTORY Villa Belvedere was built in 1848, and took the name of Belvedere for the splendid panorama we can admire from its large balcony, located at the end of the main avenue.   ARCHITECTURE From the balcony, the main attraction of the garden, we can see in front, below, the Timpa, the terrace of lava origin on which Acireale was built. To the left, we can observe the eastern coast of Sicily up to Taormina, and even Calabria during the clear days. To the right, we can see the same coast of Sicily, but this time to the south, up to the hills of Augusta. On the left side of the garden, there is a gazebo which, in the summer, is used for musical events. Further on, there is a small sports field recently built. On the right side of the garden, there is the basin with the marble sculptural group of Aci and Galatea, inspired by a work of art now found in the Read more [...]

Giardino Ibleo is a public garden located on the eastern limit of Ragusa Ibla, the ancient part of Ragusa, overlooking the valley of the Irminio river.   SHORT HISTORY Until the early 19th century, the area of the garden was a deserted enclosure, with only some ruins of the Cathedral of San Giorgio, collapsed during the earthquake of 1693. The garden was built in 1858, on the initiative of some local nobles and a large part of the population, who worked for free for its contruction. A fence was added in June, 1907. On that occasion, the entrance to the garden was moved to its current position.   DESCRIPTION The garden rises on a spur of rock, at an altitude of 385 meters, and occupies a surface area of about 15,800 square meters, with a perimeter of about 600 meters. Giardino Ibleo is characterized by the interesting coexistence of plants and trees with beautiful fountains and remarkable buldings, such as the monumental churches of San Vincenzo Ferreri, San Giacomo Apostolo and Sant’Agata, and the Capuchin convent located in the southeastern corner of the garden. In the garden, it is possible to distinguish approximately three areas corresponding to the different phases Read more [...]

La Rocca, locally called u castieddu (the castle), is a fortified cliff 268 meters high overlooking the beautiful town of Cefalù, rising on the Tyrrhenian coast, one of the most important reference points for navigation between Palermo and Messina. The relief of La Rocca has at its base a triangle with the ridges facing east, west and south. On all sides, the Rocca is characterized by very high cliffs that are practically inaccessible. The complex of fortifications (lower walls, upper walls and the castle on the top) is therefore adapted to the extraordinary topography of the site, constituting a real acropolis. The lower western part of La Rocca is characterized by the ruins of a series of mills and pipelines that collected and exploited the water that descended on the slope. On this side, the path fortified in the Middle Ages climbs to the top of the hill. The perimeter halfway to the top is surrounded by crenellated walls dating back to the Middle Ages and completed, in the recent part, in the 15th century. On the western side of the walls, opens the access gate to which the path leads. Still halfway up the hill, about 150 meters above Read more [...]

Isola Tiberina (Tiber Island) is a small island in Rome, on the Tiber River, connected to the two banks of the river by Ponte Cestio and Ponte Fabricio.   SHORT HISTORY According to legend, the island was formed in 510 BC from the wheat and grain harvested in the nearby area of Campo Marzio (Field of Mars), a land owned by the hated tyrant Tarquinius Superbus. In the 3rd century BC, the island housed the temple of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. In the first half of the 1st century BC, Isola Tiberina was paved with travertine and the bridges Fabricio and Cestio were built. By then, the island resembled a ship, and an obelisk was erected in the middle, symbolizing the vessel’s mast. In time, the obelisk was destroyed and replaced with a column. After the column was removed in 1867, Pope Pius IX had an aedicula (small shrine) put in its place. In 998, Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, built the Basilica of San Bartolomeo all’Isola, on the ruins of the Asclepius temple. Due to the church, in the early 20th century, the Tiber Island was called Isola di San Bartolomeo (Saint Bartholomew Island) and the Cestius Read more [...]