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The Butterfly House, one of the most important Italian live museums, was opened in 1988, in Montegrotto Terme, close to the Euganean Hills. It was the only one of its kind for a long time in Italy, thanks to the idea of the naturalist and entomologist Enzo Moretto, who also made several educational activities available on-site.

In the Butterfly House there are more than 400 of the most beautiful day and night butterflies in the world, living in their natural environment – the microclimate was specifically created, along with a painstaking selection of organically grown plants.

Tropical butterflies live in three typical areas: Amazonian, Afro-tropical, and Indo-Australian. These specimens are inserted during the chrysalis phase when the butterflies do not need to feed or do other activities. Upon their arrival, the chrysalises are placed in special incubators that allow their natural hatching. The larval phase is, instead, experienced in the country of origin where specialized farms are involved in raising young caterpillars while promoting their growth and development.

Furthermore, it is also possible to visit the “Forest of the fairies”, an ecological-mythological itinerary in a park of over 1.72 acres that tells stories of plants and animals; visitors can get up close and personal with the hill of the fairies, the labyrinth of stones, the druidic nemeton, the queen of fairies, and other legendary characters of the Venetian tradition – for each one of them, there is a tree with a fairytale explaining their relationship.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)