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Villa Serra Historical Park in Comago is some 10 kilometres from Genoa city centre, along the Polcevera Valley. It was built on the left bank of the Secca Torrent. Starting at the beginning of the XVIII century, this place was often chosen for some nobles’ abodes which were eventually bought by the Pinelli family and later to Serra marquises.
The whole estate was then turned into an impressive, fashionable resort by marquis Orso Serra, who tasked Carlo Cusani with the entire project. The construction started in 1850 and took some 10 years to turn the whole complex dating back to the XVII century into a Neo-gothic reality fitted with the Tudor style villa and a tower.

Using Neo-gothic paintings and outside decorations as well, Carlo Cusani transformed the whole structure in a sort of cosy medieval village; he also designed the English style romantic park with evocative pools and waterfalls.

When Orso Serra died in 1882, the park was first inherited by his heirs, then given the Genoa Curia in 1938. In the following years, the whole estate was neglected and partially destroyed during WWII.

The park

The English-style park, built in the mid-nineteenth century, covers 22.5 acres of the flat valley floor of Rio Comago. Bending paths, visual axes and perspective cones take the visitor through groves and large grassy lawns revealing lakes, streams, waterfalls and precious exotic tree species.

The vegetation

The park features several species of evergreen plants that stand out with austerity among crops and deciduous groves.
Evergreen plants were chosen to provide the perfect landscape and scenographic effects throughout the year.
In particular, architect Cusani planted Norway spruces, English yews, Cupressus, sequoias, pine trees, cedars and hollies.

Deciduous species were used to add “movement”, along with different shades which would contribute to the overall brightness of the scenes during the winter, while boosting the cooling effect in the summer.

According to the exotic requirements and the XIX century, many rare species of plants were included as well, like sequoias, tulip trees, Bald Cupressus, magnolias, cedars and sophoras.

Around the lake, many copper beeches (recently re-planted) can be found, neatly arranged to offer the perfect background when looking at the lake and the building; a sequoia nearby, stands out like a dark-green monumental column against the water and the bright-gree lawn. Again, copper beeches mark the place where the peninsula reaches the mainland.

Many centuries-old plantains and English yews are found along the road to the villa, where a huge holly oak welcomes the visitors.

Past the tower, at the very end of the bending stream, there’s a wondrous bifurcated sequoia, which has laid its roots along the banks like a natural sculpture. Further down the path, many more English yews, Liriodendron tulipifera – the tree that blossoms with tulip-like flowers in the spring – Liquidambar styraciflua, and Cedrus deodara can be admired.

Among the stream bends there are some Taxodium distichum specimens – the deciduous conifer coming from South-American swamplands, which can develop aerial roots in order to absorb oxygen from the air.
Some Turkey oaks can be found in the North-Western part of the park, while there’s a beautiful stone pine near the upper lake.

In the flat clearing that develops between some rural buildings and Rio Comago, there are some wondrous lime trees, sophoras, hornbeams maple trees which offer eye-catching contrasts in shape, foliage and colour.

In compliance with the original layout, a collection of hydrangeas – one of its kind in Italy, with over 1.300 plants and over 170 varieties (including historical and common ones) – has been recently set up.
Blooming begins in late May and continues through September.

Inside the English-style park of Villa Serra, a modern cultural facility has been inserted, respecting and merging with the very original and intrinsic features of the estate.

Hydrangea, classified in the Hydrangeacee family, is the only botanical genus which has been used to create several architectural plans with different contrast in colour.

The park offers the chance of preserving and finding out more and more about the history of hydrangeas in Europe and in Italy, since 1736. Its vast collection started in 2004 thanks to Studio Ghigino & Associati Architetti, Alessandra Borgioli e Roberto Taddei. The latter is also the owner of Vivaio Borgioli Taddei in Florence, highly specialized on hydrangeas.
It’s the first public collection in Italy, with some 250 species and a total of 1.500 plants.
This project has currently identified 9 groups with collections of:
– Hydrangea arborescens
– Hydrangea aspera
– Hydrangea heteromalla
– Hydrangea involucrata
– Hydrangea macrophylla
– Hydrangea paniculata
– Hydrangea quercifolia
– Hydrangea serrata
– climbing hydrangea

AIUOLE A e B
Hydrangea macrophylla (Lacecap Group): ’Hanabi’, ‘Izu no hana’, ‘Hatsushimo’, ‘Izu no hana’, ‘Jogasaki’, ‘Miharayama o yae’, ‘Mikanba gaku’.
Hydrangea macrophylla (Hortensia Group): ‘Ayesha’, ‘Domotoi’, ‘Nigra’.

FLOWERBED C
Hydrangea macrophylla (Hortensia Group): ‘Sir Joseph Banks’, ‘Otaksa’.
Hydrangea macrophylla (Lacecap Group): ‘Mariesii’ , ‘Sea Foam’, ‘Tricolor’, ‘Veitchii’.
Hydrangea serrata (le cultivar di H. serrata sono tutte a infiorescenza lacecap,tranne ‘Hime’) : ‘Acuminata’ , ‘Belzonii’, ‘Beni gaku’, ‘Rosalba’, ‘Grayswood’, ‘Thunberrgii’, ‘Hime’.

FLOWERBED D
Hydrangea macrophylla (Hortensia Group): ‘Bouquet rose’, ‘Mousseline’, ‘Otaksa mostruosa’, ‘Satinette’.
Hydrangea macrophylla (Lacecap Group): ‘Mariesii grandiflora’, ‘Mariesii lilacina’, ‘Mariesii perfecta’.

FLOWERBED E
Hydrangea macrophylla (Hortensia group): ‘Ami pasquier’ , ‘Beautè Vendomoise’, ‘Generale Vicomtesse de Vibraye’, ‘La Marne’, ‘Madame E. Mouillere’, ‘Marechal Foch’, ‘Souvenir de Madame E. Chautard’.

FLOWERBED F
Hydrangea macrophylla (Hortensia group): ‘Bichon’, ‘Geisha’, ‘Madame Faustin Travouillon’, ‘Marie Claire’, ‘Merveille’, ‘Souer Therese’.

FLOWERBED G
Hydrangea macrophylla (Hortensia Group): ‘All Summer Beauty’, ‘Alpengluhen’, ‘Altona’, ‘Amethyst’, ‘Enziandom’, ‘Europa’, ‘Frillibet’, ‘Harlequin’.
Hydrangea macrophylla (Lacecap Group): ‘Geoffrey Chadbund’ , ‘Hermann Dienemann’, ‘Kluis Sensation’, ‘Kluis Superba’, ‘Juno’, ‘Lancelot’, ‘Lanarth White’, ‘Messalina’, ‘Mousmèe’, ‘Nikko Blue’, ‘Nymphe’, ‘Renate Steineger’, ‘Stourton Lace’.
Cultivar di Hydrangea macrophylla a portamento nano: ‘Hornli’, ‘Pia’, ‘Tovelit’.

GROUP G2
Hydrangea macrophylla (Lacecap Group): ‘Bergfink’, ‘Blauling’, ‘Blaumeise’, ‘Buchfink’, ‘Bunspecht’, ‘Eisvogel’, ‘Elster’, ‘Fasan’, ‘Flamingo’, ‘Gimpel’, ‘Grasmucke’, ‘Kardinal’, ‘Libelle’, ‘Möwe’, ‘Mücke’, ‘Nacthigall’, ‘Papagei’, ‘Pfau’, ‘Rotdrossel’, ‘Rotkelchen’, ‘Rotschwanz’, ‘Taube’, ‘Zaunkoenig’.

GROUP G3
Hydrangea macrophylla (Hortensia group): ‘Frau Mariko’, ‘Frau Taiko’.

GROUP G4
Hidrangea macrophylla (Hortensia group): ‘Homigo’, ‘Mirai’, ‘Ripple’.
Hydrangea macrophylla (Lacecap Group): ‘Hobella’, ‘Holibel’, ‘Love you kiss’.

GROUP H
Hydrangea quercifolia Bartram, Hydrangea arborescens subsp. Radiata.

GROUP I
Cultivar: ‘Harmony’, ‘Snow Queen’

GROUP L
Cultivar: ‘Snowflake’, ‘Tennessee Clone’, ‘Alice’, ‘Pee Wee’, ‘Sikes Dwarf’.

GROUP N
Cultivar: ‘Grandiflora’.

GROUP O
Cultivar: ‘Hill of Snow’.

GROUP P
Cultivar: ‘Annabelle’.

GROUP Q
Cultivar: ‘Hayes Starburst’.

GROUP Q1
Cultivar: Hydrangea seemannii.

GROUP R
Cultivar:‘Daruma nori utsugi’,‘Floribunda’, ‘Grandiflora’,‘Kyushu’, ‘Praecox’.

GROUP S-T
Cultivar: ‘Burgundy Lace’, ‘Limelight’, ‘Phantom’, ‘Pink Diamond’, ‘Tardiva’, ‘Unique’,‘White Moth’.

GROUP U-V
Cultivar: ‘Bretschneideri’, ‘Crûg Farm’, ‘Krista’, ‘Snow Cap’,‘Willy’.

GROUP 1
H. involucrata Siebold