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San Giuliano is an ancient farm of the Marquises Paternò-Castello, located in Villasmundo; today, it’s a renowned facility with a 123-acre citrus grove.

The actual farmhouse, dating back to the 1400s and surrounded by centuries-old olive trees and vineyards, was used for the production of corn, wine and oil; in the 1970s, the land was converted into a citrus grove, initially using the very orange trees which had been growing since the XIX century.

Today, the company organically grows oranges, lemons, grapefruits, mandarins, clementines, and bitter oranges (mainly intended for the production of marmalade). It also produces extra virgin olive oil and three types of wine obtained from Tempranillo, Alicante, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Nero d’Avola, and Merlot grapes.

In the past, there was no garden, only a row of Pinus pinea dating back to the 1930s and located opposite the house; in 1990, the owners entrusted the landscape architect Oliva di Collobiano with the creation of the so-called “Giardinetto” garden, using a 9.8-acre dedicated area.

The garden appears divided into four themed sections, delimited by dry stone walls and irrigated by the “saie”, the traditional Arab canals. There’s the Arab Garden, with ponds and water lilies, the “tropical garden”, with palm trees and large cacti, the “aromatic garden”, with lavender, thyme, sage, myrtle, and other fragrant plants, and the “Mediterranean garden”, with grapefruits and roses.

Since 2002, the “Giardinetto” has been managed by the head gardener Rachel Lamb and, although it is believed to reach its maximum splendour in spring, it looks much more interesting between summer and autumn, when the plants start vegetating again after a dry summer.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)