Private and urban gardens in Venice

The orchard of the Franciscan Church Redentore on the Giudecca island.

A city with no land to expand could not afford to waste vast areas for gardens. In spite of this logical issue, the garden was a must, a status symbol.

Garden in the former Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo now a nunnery.

Besides the orchards of convents and monasteries, wealthy Venetians started from the 15th century to transform their courtyards into small gardens.

The style of gardening changed over the centuries but we can state some elements that remained constant over time.

The gardens of the private palaces were a combination of nature and architecture.

View on the Malipiero garden.

Garden of Palazzo Zenobio.

Around the garden, high brick walls separated them from the canal.

Today we have about 500 gardens in Venice. Most of them are private but there are some open to the public (admission requires).

The park on the island of San Giorgio

Giardini Biennale 2014

In the meantime, Venetians have started to take more care of their courtyards and also of spaces, which are usually forgotten by the administration giving birth to some urban gardens like in other cities.

Urban garden San Basilio

If you plan to come in spring to Venice you’ll be surprised by the many enchanting green areas of the city.

If you’d like to book a tour including some gardens, please contact me!
Cristina, slow-venice.com

Deutscher Text
Neben den Obstgärten von Klöstern und Klöstern begannen wohlhabende Venezianer ab dem 15. Jahrhundert, ihre Innenhöfe in kleine Gärten zu verwandeln.
Der Gartenstil hat sich im Laufe der Jahrhunderte geändert, aber wir können einige Elemente angeben, die im Laufe der Zeit konstant geblieben sind.

In meinem Buch über die Gärten von Venedig können Sie mehr Gärten finden. Wenn Sie die Gärten mit mir besichtigen möchten, schreiben Sie mir eine Mail:
cristina@slow-venice.com


Share