These gardens spread over 17 hectares on the slopes of Mount Marzano. Built between the 18th and 19th centuries, they predominantly resemble a forest, criss-crossed by straight avenues with some formally-planted areas, enriched by precious elements, not least a very special open-air theatre.
The della Valva family, of Norman extraction, dates all the way back to the start of the second millennium. The tower later incorporated into the villa, known as the Castle, dates back to this period, although it was only at the end of the 18th century that Marquis Giuseppe Maria Valva built the residence as a holiday home next to the existing medieval building. The Marquis lavished his greatest efforts, however, on creating the gardens, hiring the finest gardeners and botanists in the Kingdom: magnolias, cedars, firs and plane trees planted in the 19th century stand out against thecontinuum of the coppice wood (mainly, holm oaks, chestnut trees and maples). The woodland is set within the overall layout through formal elements of great value, including two “Italian-style” gardens, orchards, small neoclassical or medieval style architectural elements, fishponds, a small lake (no longer visible), extensive statuary, caves and the spectacular “teatro di verzura” open-air theatre. In 1831, the residence passed to the d’Ayala family, which had close links with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. It was to this organization that the family left the property in a 1959 bequest. The gardens we see today are the result of continuous renovations and enrichments by the Valva and d’Ayala families. The most significant period for this work spanned the 1700s and 1800s, although it was later, around 1867, that the villa gained new splendour as a result of work commissioned by Marquis Francesco d’Ayala-Valva.
Highlights
The Open-Air Theatre
The exedra is configured as a theatre of Virtue and Family Honour (in Italian, “valva” means shell as well as valve), both a “living theatre” and a “theatre of death”, formed by concentric tiers of seats with low boxwood seatbacks on which dozens of busts of heroes and heroines are installed. The theatre displays conceptual links with the theatres designed by William Kent for Chiswick, Stowe’s Temple of British Virtues, and a number of Italian specimens (Villa Brenzone for one). The arrangement of the busts is a reference to Dante’s Heavenly Jerusalem, specifically the form of an amphitheatre and a “candid rose”.
Garden Decor
Numerous sculptural works are dotted around the garden: nymphs, gods, putti, fantastical creatures and the Muses, which signpost access to the secret garden. The many fountains are connected to a waterworks system that uses caves and canals most likely dating back to Roman times. Smaller buildings include a Coffee house, with a neo-gothic porch that features sculptures of the Pacchiane, countrywomen in Lucanian costume.
The Two "Italian-style" Gardens
The first, small-sized garden, near the gardens’ entrance, is configured with a four-sided layout; a second, larger garden surrounded by walls highlighted by a succession of marble busts, is the secret garden, attached to the residence. The layout follows a unique lyre-shaped design.