The most beautiful Italian gardens to explore
An array of gorgeous Italian gardens make Italy’s northern lakes a nirvana for plant lovers
There are gorgeous Italian gardens that surround Italy’s northern lakes – a region blessed with a mild climate and lots of sunshine. From fragrant citrus tunnels and aromatic pines to cascades of camellias, hydrangeas and roses, the exceptional beauty and variety of this are makes it a true nirvana for plant lovers.
Embracing Orta, Maggiore, Varese, Lugano, Como, Iseo, Idro and Garda, the major Italian lakes extend across Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, with Maggiore and Lugano also reaching into Switzerland. Every one of these majestic lakes offers its own unique allure, but lush plant life is a thrilling feature of each.
Some of these Italian gardens can be glimpsed only from boat trips on the various lakes, which serves to make them even more romantic and alluring. But many lakes gardens are open to visitors (some only in the warmer months), and each offers something different and unique to inspire the green-fingered. You might recognise some from famous films, though each scene offers a sense of cinematic, photogenic glamour and is full of vibrant, colourful life.
As well as being home to lush Italian gardens, the Lakes provide a fabulous outdoor playground for hikers, swimmers, water-skiers, windsurfers, sailors, canoeists, cyclists and mountain-bikers, horse-riders and treetop adventurers. A hire car is the best way to make the most of them.
We’ve rounded up our favourite Italian gardens around the lakes, whether your taste runs to the formal or something more laidback and whimsical. You'll also find some wonderful garden tours to explore the Italian gardens on holiday.
Isola Bella and Isola Made, Lake Maggiore
A little ferry serves the Borromean Islands dotting the second-largest of the Italian lakes, Maggiore. Named for Isabella, Countess Borromeo, Isola Bella is made up of just one tiny village and an unfinished summer palace. Displaying Lombard artworks and Flemish tapestries, it’s surrounded by 10-terrace Italianate garden with a huge unicorn, obelisks, grottoes and water-wheel towers, through which – like something out of a dream – white peacocks wander amid camphor, citrus trees, roses, rhododendrons and camellias.
Hop back on the ferry and you’ll find, on the largest of the Borromeans, the Giardini Botanici dell'Isola Madre – a treasure trove of botanical jewels created by naturalist Vitaliano IX, who had seeds and plants brought here from all over the world. Its gems include peonies, azaleas and verbenas, plus apricot, cherry and other fruit trees, and walnut trees near the Palazzo with its original interiors and antique puppet theatre.
Good Housekeeping's tour of the Italian Lakes includes the Borromean Islands, as well as the gardens of Villa Taranto and Villa Balbianello, and an appearance from Gardeners' World's Carol Klein.
Villa Taranto, Lake Maggiore
Created by an expat Scot in 1931, these dreamy gardens have one of the most important botanical collections in the world. Blending the English style with Italian decorative features including statues, fountains, terraces and waterfalls, the Italian gardens include eucalyptus, azaleas, rhododendrons, magnolias, tropical plants including giant water lilies and rare specimens such as Tasmanian tree ferns. Unique to the gardens are the ‘natural paintings’ (artworks made from plants) in the Herbarium.
Maggiore as a whole is a great spot for outdoor pursuits including hiking, mountain-biking and water sports.
Villa Melzi, Lake Como
This lakeshore property in Bellagio was the summer residence of Francesco Melzi d’Eril, vice president of the Italian Republic in 1802–05, and remains a private dwelling, but you can tour its huge botanical garden designed by architect Luigi Canonica and agronomist Luigi Villoresi, and there’s a museum and a family chapel you can have a look at.
The prettiest of the Lakes, surrounded by soaring peaks, Como is plied by old-fashioned steamboats and dotted with low-key resorts from which you can hike, swim, water ski, mountain bike, horse ride and play golf.
You can also take a day trip into Switzerland from Como, aboard the iconic Bernina Railway with Good Housekeeping.
Villa del Balbianello, Como
The architecture is a triumph, but it’s the stunning terraced gardens of this villa in the hamlet of Lenno on the tip of the wooded peninsula of Lavedo that are the real star of Balbianello. Built in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery, the villa was renovated by the American general Butler Amos and stands out for its breathtaking loggia and heart-racing lake views.
Scenes from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Casino Royale (when Bond is recuperating in memorably scenic surroundings) were filmed here – that’s how iconic and spellbinding these gardens are.
Villa Carlotta, Como
Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo with its sculptures, paintings and original furnishings is surrounded by botanical grounds that include an Italian garden with citrus tunnels and camellia, and a Romantic garden with hydrangeas, English roses, a rock garden with succulents, monumental trees including cedars, cypresses, redwoods and pines and aromatic plants.
Many plants arrived here at the behest of Duke George of Saxony Meiningen, a passionate botanist who also commissioned its theatrical Valley of Ferns with its burbling stream.
Villa d’Este, Como
This former 16th-century royal residence is now one of the most romantic hotels in the world (and one of the prestigious Leading Hotels of the World collection), but non-residents can tour its 25 acres of spectacular grounds by request.
One of the Great Italian Gardens Association, this magnificent parkland is one of the most harmonious examples of Baroque landscaping in all Italy, but there are other styles in evidence here, including Renaissance and Romantic.
Giardino Botanico Fondazione André Heller, Lake Garda
Also known as the Giardino Botanico A Hruska, his garden in the grounds of the André Heller Foundation above Garda is particularly special for art lovers: as well as around 3000 plant species from all over the world, it’s home to artworks by Rodin, Fernand Leger, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and other global greats.
The largest lake in Italy, Garda is also brilliant for windsurfing, sailing and canoeing, plus hiking, horse-riding, mountain-biking and treetop adventures. Its other sights include the fantastical Villa Il Vittoriale and the Roman ruins of Sirmione.
Garda can be combined with the atmospheric cities of Verona and Venice on a Good Housekeeping Northern Italian Adventure.
Riserva Naturale Speciale Monte Mesma, Orta
This is a nature reserve rather than an Italian garden per se, but it includes meadows and vegetable gardens cultivated by Franciscan friars, beside its convent. On Mesma mountain, near the south-eastern shore of Orta, it also has chestnut and oak woods and a population of roe deer, wild boar, foxes, hares and badgers.
The smallest of the northern lakes, Orta is a placid, often-overlooked gem where you can visit a 19th-century island–village, Isola San Giulio.
If you base yourself on Orta, as part of a Good Housekeeping Italian Lakes and Gardens holiday, you can also visit lakes Maggiore and Como, as well as the charming alpine resorts of Locarno and Zermatt, nestled among dramatic snow-capped peaks.
Looking for inspiration for your next holiday? Grab a cuppa and browse our brochure packed with unique escapes.
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