“A garden created as if by magic”: art historian Cesare Brandi used these words to define this unique and special Mediterranean garden, created on the site of the dried-out Lake del Biviere.

“Biviere” (from the Arabic word “veverè” drinking trough for animals and fish farm) is the name of the lake and the district connected to the myth of Hercules, who brought as a gift to Ceres the skin of the Nemean lion which he threw to the ground creating a lake (Lacus Erculeus). Flora and lake fauna flourished there and reclamation of the area and of the lake was carried out between the 1930s and the 1950s. The current owners, descendants of the Borghese family, decided to install an estate for the cultivation of citrus fruit and durum wheat in the areas that had remained uncultivated and abandoned. Two long flowerbeds display an extraordinary collection of succulents and large examples of Yucca Elephantipes, while other parts of the garden are home to lush palms, light blue jacaranda, Parkinsonia aculeata, antique roses and a rare example of Xanthorrea arborea facing the chapel of Sant’Andrea. Orange blossom and jasmine pervade this colourful fragrant garden.

Highlights