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The Garden of Palazzo Giacomini Romiati is in Padua, a few steps from the Basilica del Santo.

The palace and the romantic garden were designed by the Venetian architect Giuseppe Jappelli, between 1839 and 1840: he was tasked with this challenging project by the famous doctor Giacomo Andrea Giacomini, to whom he was linked by a common liberal-Masonic political faith and true friendship.

The Venetian architect created a lively garden, with hills covered with yews, laurels and other evergreens, centered on a five-storey high cylindrical Masonic-style tower. The latter is reached by a winding path among authentic and reconstructed historical ruins.
The palace, which features an uncompromising façade, opens onto an internal courtyard with neo-Gothic views. The terraces are decorated in a XIX century style.

THE GARDEN

Conceived as a leisure space, it covers a flat area of about 3.000 square yards, cleverly expanded with the insertion of hills against the surrounding wall and green wings to disguise its real boundaries. Winding paths, stone benches and a peculiar niche were added for further decoration purposes. The garden house several impressive trees, like a majestic beech (Fagus sylvatica “Pendula”), and a great Judas-tree (Cercis siliquastrum).
There are also a beautiful Japanese cucumber tree (Magnoglia hypoleuca), some sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans), yews (Taxus baccata), and ancient Chinese holly (Ilex cornuta), among the first specimens introduced in Europe.

The rest of the vegetation consists of laurels (Laurus nobilis), and nettle trees (Celtis australis), with the undergrowth featuring common ivy (Hedera helix), cast-iron-plants (Aspidistra elatior), oval-leaved saxifrage (Saxifraga crassifolia), and butterfly flowers (Iris japonica)

The Giacomini Palace, purchased in 1917 by Giorgio Romiati, is now owned by his nephews Giorgio and Giancarlo. Only the garden is open to the public, by reservation.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)