Italian Gardens from Pompeii to Renaissance Villas in Rome
This tour takes you through creations of different kinds, from Pompeii's excavations and renovated gardens from the first 100 years A.C. to Russel Page's creation from the fifties La Mortella on the Island of Ischia. We'll visit the gardens of Ninfa and Landirana beautiful like the magnificent Palazzo Farnese, Villa Lante and Villa D'Este but even minor cloister gardens that are oasis in the noisy cities.

Based on minimum 20 participants.

Day 1: Arrival to Naples – Santa Chiara.
Arrival to Naples meeting with bus and tour leader for transfer to the hotel. During the afternoon we'll make a visit in the church of Santa Chiara and the internal cloister garden, the church is the centre of the city and this place is like an oasis with peace and quite. Dinner together in nearby restaurant.

Day 2: Pompeii gardens – Villa San Michele.
We start our day with a visit to Pompeii, where many of the gardens has been excavated with help of the frescoes that has been found during the years and plants that were originally in this gardens has been planted again.
The plants growing was ivy, cut box hedge (Buxus Semperviren) or bush, cut laurel, myrtle, acanthus and rosemary.
The water was an important detail and in the gardens there was a lot of statues to where the water was led and than was sprayed in a fountain.
Back to Naples we take the fastgoing boat over to Capri, and by minibuses we go up to Anacapri to visit the Villa San Michele to see the villa and garden made by Axel Munthe.
Lunch on your own and time to go around in Capri before going back to Naples.

Day 3: Villa La Mortella, Ischia.
From Naples we take fastgoign boat to the island of Ischia, upon arrival bus is waiting to take us to the town of Forio where we'll visit the gardens of La Mortella that was founded by Russel Page in the end of the 50ties for the famous compositor Sir William Walton and his wife Lady Susana, on a steep hill over the sea. We have lunch together in Forio and in the afternoon we go back to Naples.

Day 4: Ninfa's and Landriana's gardens.
We leave Naples to drive north towards Rome and the region of Lazio on the way we stop in the wonderful gardens of Ninfa south of Rome. Ninfa is an amazing place and for many it is the ideal garden. We make a stop and the gardens of Landriana 50 km south of Rome, the marchioness Lavinia Taverna has been working 40 years to grow the garden which is in different levels, with 32 different sections, each with a theme and a mixture of English abundant growing and strict Italian style.
We drive to our hotel in Tivoli just 30 Km east of Rome and have dinner together.

Day 5: Cloister gardens in Rome.
We drive to Rome and meet with local guide that during the morning will bring us to the church San Paolo fuori le Mura to visit the cloister garden. After a short orientation tour with the guide we have free time for lunch and shopping before we go back to Tivoli and have dinner together.

Day 6: Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola and Villa Lante in Bagnaia.
Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola was built 1570 by Vignola whom probably even produced the garden, which is divided in summer and winter garden which is possible to reach from the Palace through various bridges. From the bridges a path under secular trees brings to Vignolas masterpiece "Casino del Piacere" made in 1560, that suddenly appears behind an arrangement of fountains and steps. The perfect balance between landscape, architecture and sculptures makes Villa Farense one of the biggest architectonic Italian masterpieces. In Bagnaia a small village we visit Villa Lante, a renaissance garden, we eat lunch in the countryside between the to visits and return to Tivoli in late afternoon.

Day 7: Villa D’Este in Tivoli.
For the one that wants to visit the market in Tivoli or take a walk along the main road for shopping or just stroll around the historical centre there is time until the first afternoon.
We meet the tour leader to see Villa D’Estes gardens, Tivoli was chosen by the roman emperors as the ideal place to build villas for summer residences. Villa D'Este (today part of the UNESCO property) was constructed for the Cardinal Ippolito D'Este 1559 by Pirro Ligorio, the garden is built on a steep hill in terraces and the water is the part of main compositions
The park is built as a classical Italian garden with low box hedges and neatly cut bushes, the water is led in from the Aniene river through a canal spraying in the fountains and than going back to the river.
Dinner together close by the hotel.

Day 8: Departure.
Transfer by private coach to Rome airport.







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