Colored, with intense aromas and capable of enchanting anyone: i fiori they are undoubtedly one of the most fascinating spectacles on our planet. Admiring them in unspoiled nature, however, is not always possible. Man has therefore made gods small paradises where to observe them in all their beauty. And after the most romantic garden in the world, Italy can boast that, according to some, the most beautiful. We are talking about Villa Taranto, spectacular complex located in the heart of Verbania.
The most beautiful garden in the world
A few steps from the center of Verbania, a small Piedmontese town located on the coasts of Lake Maggiore, there is a villa that can boast the most beautiful garden in the world. This is Villa Taranto, which is also home to the prefecture of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Its 16 hectares are characterized by the presence of some of the rarest plants and flowers in the world. Every year, in March, the garden opens to the public to allow anyone to enjoy the flowering and the explosion of the spring. A show that lasts about 245 days, until November, when the gates are closed for the cold season. But what is special about this green space?
Thousands of different plants live in the garden, many of which extremely rare. Every year, with the arrival of spring, the flowers show their beauty to the world, transforming the more than 7 km of internal avenues in a real journey through scents and colors. Among these it is impossible not to mention the Avenue of the Conifers, with an incredible sequence of very rare specimens of conifers. The very suggestive Dahlie Labyrinth and its 1700 flowering plants. Then, the water games of the gods are spectacular terraced gardens and mausoleum where the creator of this paradise is buried. But what is the history of Villa Taranto?
Villa Taranto: a work of Scottish origins
Author of the splendid garden of Villa Taranto is Neil Boyd Watson McEacharn, a captain of Scottish origins in love with botany and Italy. At the end of the XNUMXs, McEacharn decided to build on Italian soil a small botanical garden, to feed his great passion. After years of research, he found in the property of the Marquess of Sant'Elia the right place to set up the garden. It was a nineteenth-century villa built by Count Orsetti and with several hectares of land, known as The Crocetta. Following nine years of renovation, the Scottish captain was able to inaugurate his estate with the name of Villa Taranto. This was a way of paying homage to an old ancestor of McEacharn, such Etienne Macdonald, French general appointed Duke of Taranto da Napoleon.
Over the years that small garden turned into a real work of art. A botanical gallery where, even today, it is possible to observe many varieties of plants and flowers. Despite the efforts, however, McEacharn had to separate from his property due to the war. In fact, in 1939 Italy entered the conflict against England and its allies. And for obvious reasons the Scottish captain was forced to emigrate to Australia, giving Villa Taranto to the Italian state. After the war, the Scottish captain returned to the beautiful country and opened his villa to the public. Everyone had to be able to admire those unique plants and flowers. After receiving the title of honorary citizen of Verbania, in 1964 McEacharn died, but his villa continued to be open to visitors. Because by now it had become for the city a symbolic monument, and also the best way to remember one of its most special citizens.
For more information, here the official website of Villa Taranto.
