Giardino Barocco all'italiana

From this vantage point, another highlight comes into view: the Garden of Love. Box hedges form four parterre designs, like intricate embroidery around a central pond filled with water lilies. Surrounding these, in keeping with the precision and symmetry typical of Italian gardens, are espaliered citrus trees, flowerpots, and geometrically shaped trees. 

Citrus trees have flourished here for centuries. Walking along the Belvedere path, their vibrant presence is unmissable. Looking down, one sees the Viale degli Aranci stretching toward the Torre dei Venti, which houses the bookshop. Symmetrically placed on the opposite side is the Torre della Noria, home to an open-air café. From here begins the Viale di Ponente, a walkway lined with luxuriant citrus espaliers, offering glimpses of the Serra Elisa. This iron-and-glass greenhouse, originally designed as a winter garden, now shelters rare plants and botanical curiosities within its niches and columns.

In the 19th century, the garden saw the addition of collections of exotic plants, many of which can be found in the Piano della Canfora, named for the majestic camphor tree that has reigned over the garden for more than two centuries. Beneath its shade, white peacocks roam freely. Ancient and traditional botanical species flourish in the Parterre delle Azalee, which, starting in April, graces the garden with shades of white and fuchsia. The Terrazza delle Rose, on the other hand, offers a palette of colors ranging from cherry red to coral to soft peach, as climbing varieties bloom luxuriantly along the terrace's espalier, clearly visible even from the lake.