Giardino dei Ciucioi

In the town of Lavis, about a twenty-minute car ride from Trento, there is a garden which seems to have been taken straight from a fairy tale.

The Giardino Bortolotti, also known as the “Giardino dei Ciucioi”, is a hanging garden like no other, where architectural ruins and plant life combine to create a dreamlike atmosphere with the romantic charm of times gone by. It is a monumental complex that displays the eclectic tastes favoured in the first half of the nineteenth century, in an attempt to bring an imaginary, idyllic landscape back to life.

A zig-zag ramp winds its way through terraced hanging gardens, where various structures are dotted amid the magnificent rare plants. These include the façade of a Gothic revival church, a Renaissance loggia, and much more. Towering over them all at the very top sits the building known as the Casa del Giardiniere, or Gardener’s House. Following long renovation works, the gardens have recently re-opened for guided tours.