This medieval castle converted into a villa is indelibly associated with Gabriele D’Annunzio. Surrounded by beautiful parkland, it features a main show garden, a secret garden, a brolo orchard, centuries-old hornbeam trees, a fish pond and an icehouse. Its beautiful English roses are without doubt one of its highlights.
The palazzo stands on the ruins of a former medieval castle, featuring a tower built by the Da Carrara family, Lords of Padua, in the first half of the 14th century. The Zaborra Counts took over the villa in 1680. A room inside displays the family tree and a map of the local area dating back to 1626. In the 1970s, architect Alberto Avesani, husband of Countess Zaborra, renovated the villa and restored the surrounding garden. In 1980, a portion of the villa was turned into a Museum of Aerospace History, showcasing interesting models of airplanes, airships and hot air balloons in memory of Gabriele D’Annunzio’s flight over Vienna, who set off on that trip from San Pelagio. The garden is divided into different “rooms” separated by hedges and age-old walls. The first courtyard, with its pool of water, leads to the “secret garden”, a sheltered place in the shade of old trees with a pool of water and a stone bench that invites visitors to tarry a while. Next comes the sunny aspect of the “brolo” orchard, followed by a hillock containing an icehouse, a fishpond, and then some labyrinths. Trees, flowering shrubs, and herbaceous perennials alternate with great harmony throughout.
Highlights
14th-century Tower
The Tower was once part of the Da Carrara family’s defensive system, which originally featured a number of other towers connected via underground passageways. The three-floor tower is topped off with Ghibelline battlements; its hallway features a memorial stone that pays homage to Gabriele D’Annunzio, who departed from here for his famous flight to Vienna on 9 August 1918.
The Rose Collection
Thanks to the owner’s passion, the garden boasts a major collection of roses. Garden visits begin with the flowering and scented pergola at the entrance, leading to its various “rooms”, in which roses cover the walls and hang from the centuries-old trees in what is a harmonious embroidery.
The hillock
Icehouse hillocks with masonry walls below ground, which were once used to store perishable goods, are a common feature in landscaped Italian gardens. The one in the San Pelagio gardens doubles as a belvedere, offering views out over the countryside and the nearby hills.
Labyrinths
The garden features three mazes. The first, the Minotaur Maze, was inspired by Icarus and the theme of flight. The second, the “Forse che sì, forse che no” labyrinth, is named after the labyrinth Francesco II Gonzaga painted in his palace, as well as being the title of one of D’Annunzio’s novels. A hall of mirrors dedicated to D’Annunzio’s poetry alludes to the concept of the “double”. The third, the African labyrinth, has water features, ritual masks and animals.
The Museum of Flight
One of the Castle’s main attractions, the museum’s large halls are filled with historical uniforms, images from the history of flight, valuable models of flying machines, aeronautical relics, modern aircraft, and the story of D’Annunzio’s flight and raid over Vienna.