The gaze of love that saved the gardens of Villa della Pergola 2006-2026: twenty years of resistance and resilience of nature against concrete
The gaze of love that saved the gardens of Villa della Pergola 2006-2026: twenty years of resistance and resilience of nature against concrete
From the eyes of English travelers in 1875 to the rescue in 2006, from potential housing speculation to the present day: a story of landscape, botany and beauty through more than one hundred and fifty years of history of a symbolic garden of the Italian Riviera, restored to new splendor thanks to a bold choice and an enlightened vision
I Gardens of Villa della Pergola occupy a rare position in the panorama of large Italian gardens: 22,000 square meters that develop on the typical Ligurian terraces of the hill of Alassio, overlooking the Bay of the Sun, with the sea as a constant presence on the permanent horizon.
Villa della Pergola with its garden has become over time a place of contemplation, inspiration and memory for different generations that have transformed and interpreted this place: from the English aristocrats who spent the winter season here to the botanists and gardeners who built its identity, up to artists, musicians and writers such as Carlo Levi, Edward Elgar, Alfred Hitchcock and Italo Calvino.
It was, first, the English general Montagu Scott McMurdo, in 1875, to intuit the potential of this hill overlooking the sea, transforming an agricultural land into a garden, conceived in close dialogue with the landscape and with the extraordinary exposure to the sea and the sun of the Riviera. Later, Sir Walter Dalrymple, a Scottish baronet, expanded and gave structure to the park, while Daniel Hanbury, from the 1920s, gave it a marked botanical imprint, enriching it with species from all over the world.
It is the gaze that becomes the guiding thread of this place: a gaze that invites you to observe Alassio and the landscape of the Riviera with a different sensitivity, from the bright glimpses on the Bay of the Sun and the Mediterranean nature up to a deeper reflection on the relationship between man, landscape and land transformation. It is no coincidence that, while observing the coastal landscapes of Liguria, Italo Calvino denounced in "La speculazione edilizia" the risk of a development capable of erasing identity, memory and beauty.
The year 2006 represents one of the most significant moments in the history of Villa della Pergola. After years of neglect and neglect, the Gardens and Villas were saved from potential housing speculation by a bold choice and an enlightened vision. It was the gaze and sensitivity of Silvia and Antonio Ricci, together with the landscape vision of Paolo Pejrone and the contribution of Ettore Mocchetti for the restoration of the villas, to imagine the rebirth of this extraordinary place.
A gesture of love and responsibility towards the memory and identity of the territory, which has restored to the Gardens of Villa della Pergola a splendor today unparalleled. Since the 2006 bailout - whose 20th anniversary is in 2026 - the garden has continued to grow and transform, becoming one of the most important botanical realities in Europe.
Today it houses the largest collection of wisteria in Italy, with over 40 varieties, and the largest collection of agapanti in Europe, with over 500 varieties, along with an important citrus fruit and a vegetation that intertwines Mediterranean and exotic essences from every latitude.
Here the sea accompanies the visitor along the entire route, from the entrance to the last panoramic terrace, continuously dialoguing with the garden, with the architecture of the villas and with the changing light of the Riviera. Balustrades, pergolas, terraces and paths are not only architectural and ornamental elements, but also perspective tools designed to frame and multiply the views of the sea. Each level of the garden offers a new vantage point and reflection, a different angle on the bay.
Awarded as the Most Beautiful Park in Italy and recognized by the Royal Horticultural Society as a Partner Garden, the Villa della Pergola Gardens today represent a rare balance between landscape, botany, architecture and historical memory. Visiting them means training the gaze in its deepest form: observing the botanical detail and, at the same time, the width of the landscape; read the garden, the hill and the sea together. With the awareness that this same landscape, continues for over one hundred and fifty years to be the silent guardian of stories, visions and rebirths.
I Gardens of Villa della Pergola represent today not only a unique botanical and landscape heritage, but also a symbol of the resilience and resistance of nature against the ugliness of concrete. A place that testifies how beauty, when viewed with sensitivity, culture and foresight, can still be saved, preserved and returned to future generations.
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