Tremezzina, April 19, 2024 – The new paths in the Villa Carlotta park, which will be open to the public in the coming months, are taking shape thanks to the project “A Step in the Park, a Step Towards the Future. Villa Carlotta, an Asset for the Territory”, funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR – M1C3 Investment 2.3 “Programs to enhance the identity of places: historic parks and gardens” financed by the European Union – Next Generation EU) and chosen among proposals for the restoration and enhancement of historic parks and gardens. The executive phase is thus getting underway, which includes a plan of interventions articulated in five different areas: the vegetative component and garden design, the architectural and sculptural component, the plant component, interventions on safety and accessibility, and finally, interventions in the field of enhancement and communication.
Currently, works are underway concerning both the vegetative component, particularly in the wooded area near the spaces of the botanical garden, along the Tremezzo – Griante axis, and the recovery and safety measures for the rustic buildings involved in the project. Through PNRR funds, the roofs will be refurbished and other necessary works will be carried out to plan their future uses.
The first and significant operations of cleaning and securing the forest, mainly composed of oaks, chestnuts, and tulip trees, have been completed, and the differentiated paving of the paths is being defined to allow the use of these new areas open to the public by the end of 2024. Thanks to the project, important interventions related to safety and the improvement of the visitor experience will also be carried out, including the Wi-Fi coverage of the entire park, an intervention that can only be implemented with the activation of fiber optic, the arrival of which is awaited, and a new lighting system. These works will also enable an increase in educational activities and workshops. Another particularly relevant aspect of the project is related to the diagnosis of the health status of trees, which continues the ongoing work by further improving the level of analysis thanks to increasingly sophisticated and high-performing technological tools.
Many issues related to the maintenance and enhancement of the botanical heritage have also been addressed in the recent meeting organized by “Beyond the Garden”, a project for continuous training and professional updating for the care and management of historic parks and gardens, promoted by the Ministry of Culture and implemented by the Foundation School of Cultural Heritage with the support of APGI, the Association of Parks and Gardens of Italy. The meeting, held on April 4th at Villa Farnesina at the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, saw the participation of Villa Carlotta as one of the selected among over 120 historic parks and gardens, recognized for its excellence in landscape, architectural, artistic, and botanical design. The conference offered a valuable opportunity for discussion on many urgent issues, such as garden management, the climate crisis, and accessibility as a key to enhancing and safeguarding green heritage.
Behind the scenes of excellence
Developing skills, networking, and continuous training are among the objectives of Villa Carlotta, which, through tenders and projects carried out in the last decade, has developed and refined new strategic choices for the safety and conservation of the garden. The digitalization of the botanical heritage through specific software, studies, and scientific publications, the planned conservation plan, and the adoption of protocols for green care have allowed the Institution to systematize knowledge to identify priorities and necessary actions to be undertaken in an era of sudden climate changes characterized by violent storms resulting in tree falls even of healthy ones.
Every garden undergoes continuous evolution over time: if not periodically maintained, in the medium and long term it tends to degrade and return to its original condition, prior to human intervention. The balances and relationships of forms in space are altered by natural growth, senescence, and death of plants, while the birth of weeds determines disorder and competition with ornamental or cultivated specimens. Finally, atmospheric phenomena affect the plant component, degrading buildings, structures, and paths at the same time.
A careful plan of scheduled maintenance is therefore necessary to preserve the “ideal” condition of such a vast and complex heritage as that of Villa Carlotta. However, it is not sufficient: one must take into account the ongoing climate changes, which cause exceptional weather events, and the increase in phytosanitary emergencies due to increasingly aggressive factors. Therefore, recourse to extraordinary interventions is inevitable.
A cohesive team of gardeners – supported by seasonal workers during the opening months and guided by agronomist specialists using the most advanced technologies – ensures the safety and decorum of the Villa Carlotta complex, allowing visitors unforgettable experiences.
For information:
t +39 0344 40405
Press Office
Paola Carlotti 3357059871
Paola.carlotti@ellecistudio.it
Chiara Lupano 3357835403
