This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

In the very heart of Milan, a few steps away from the Brera Botanical Garden and the fashion district, there’s the Bulgari Hotel – a luxury 5-star facility designed by Antonio Citterio & Partners.

Its modern and highly refined garden was created in 2014 by landscape architect Sophie Agata Ambroise.

The garden was actually built right were the “Hortus conclusus” of an old monastery used to be; first came an Italian garden – belonging to a noble residence, then a brand new facility appeared, featuring modern and contemporary plants and species. Its creator was inspired by the travel accounts of many foreign visitors who used to enjoy the natural beauties of Italy back in the 1700s. Sophie Agata Ambroise also wanted to retain the nearby vegetable garden heritage, thus creating an “open” garden, enjoyable throughout the year.

THE PROJECT

Some 4.785 square yards are cultivated as a series of “rooms”, including the restaurant terrace, outdoor living rooms, private relaxation areas, a large lawn over the parking lot, and different connected floors adopted to cope with the obvious structural limitations. The garden features huge beeches (Fagus sylvatica), a nettle tree (Celtis australis), and a Japanese pagoda tree (Styphnolobium japonicum).

The formal, large terrace is embellished with shaped bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), and boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ‘Arborescens’) reminiscent of a medieval garden.

The five outdoor living rooms appear as French parlours: enclosed within willow weaves, they are furnished with quaint furniture and potted boxwood, benefiting from the shade offered by several plantains (Platanus x acerifolia) with romantic Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis “Alba”).

The small hill at the back of the garden is probably the most informal part of it; it has some English park features, embellished with star magnolia (Magnolia stellata), pink and white-flowered dogwood (Cornus florida rubra, and Cornus florida alba), and white camellias (Camellia sasanqua).

Nearby, there’s a wild patch with a small wood of ferns and fan palms (Chamaerops) featuring white climbing roses; then, there are some beeches inside the dedicated “room” made of Fagus sylvatica “Purpurea”, and finally, in a stagnation area grow hydrangeas and willows which can absorb a lot of that extra water.

Anybody can visit the garden, also while enjoying some refreshments or brunch at the Bulgari Hotel restaurant.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)