Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto

The Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto (16 hectares) are botanical gardens located on the western shore of Lake Maggiore in Pallanza, Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy. They are open daily; an admission fee is charged.

The gardens were established 1931-1940 by Scotsman Neil McEacharn who bought an existing villa and its neighboring estates, cut down more than 2000 trees, and undertook substantial changes to the landscape, including the addition of major water features employing 8 km of pipes. They opened to the public in 1952, and after McEacharn's death in 1964 have been run by a non-profit organization. The Villa Taranto itself is not open to the public; it is used by the government.

Today the gardens contain nearly 20,000 plant varieties, representing more than 3,000 species, set among 7 km of paths. Among its collections are azalea, cornus, greenhouses of "Victoria amazonica", and 300 types of dahlias. It also contains a small herbarium and the founder's mausoleum.

See also

* List of botanical gardens in Italy

References

* [http://www.villataranto.it/home_eng.htm Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto]
* Neil McEacharn, "The Villa Taranto: A Scotsman's Garden in Italy", Country Life, 1954.
* Carola Lodari, "Villa Taranto: Captain McEacharn's Garden", Umberto Allemandi, 2006. ISBN 8842208655.
* [http://www.stresa.net/verbania/villataranto/uk.htm Stresa.net description]
* [http://www.compagnidiviaggi.it/Villa%20Taranto/index.html Photographs]