my Marche

{:it}Discovering the green treasures of Marche{:}{:en}Discovering the natural treasures of Marche{:}

Landscapes and Architecture

{: it}Interview with Luca Orciani, creator of Gardens of the Marche

 

Gardens of the Marche: what is it about? How did the idea come about?

The idea of Gardens of the Marche was born about a year ago after reading an interview on Il Sole 24 Ore with Judith Wade, creator of Grandi Giardini Italiani. The article underlined the excellent results obtained in terms of garden openings, visitor numbers (now above 8 million per year) and jobs created by this "industry". So I asked myself if it wasn't possible to create something similar on a smaller scale for the gardens of our region, often unknown even to the people of the Marche themselves who instead go to visit other gardens around the world. Strengthened by previous activities in the world of cultural associations, I first opened a website (giardinidellemarche.it) which collects essential information for those who want to visit gardens in our region: days and times, addresses, telephone numbers, links to the institutional website of the structure and, subsequently, I created a Facebook page which in a few months has gained a community of over 1000 members. I recently also opened an Instagram account called “gardens_of_marche”, where I collect the photos taken while wandering around our gardens.

In the picture: Gardens of Villa Bonaccorsi

How does the service work?

First, I must point out that Gardens of the Marche it is a cultural and non-profit initiative. We promise to enhance - in the sense of generating value, therefore also economic - the historic gardens of the Marche region by promoting new openings. We suggest that visits are always guided and paid (especially due to the high cost of maintaining the gardens) and that they include the three main aspects of visiting a garden: the architectural/historical one, the botanical one and the pure contemplation one, to be able to admire the beauty of the views and blooms. We would soon also like to organize events, combining visits with food and wine experiences with local products when possible, bringing music to the gardens with performances and concerts... anything that can improve the usability of the gardens by citizens and economic sustainability by who administers them.

In the picture: gardens of Villa Caprile

How many realities have you already managed to involve?

At the moment there are six gardens that can be officially visited, some by appointment: Villa Caprile, Villa Imperiale and Villa Cattani Stuart in Pesaro, Villa Buonaccorsi in Potenza Picena, Rocca d'Ajello in Camerino, the Borgo Storico Seghetti Panichi in Castel di Lama. Added to these are the three botanical gardens of the Universities of Urbino, Camerino and Ancona, the latter in the Selva di Gallignano. Following the last earthquake that hit the Marche we lost the beautiful Villa Collio in S. Severino Marche, which we hope can be returned to the community together with its magnificent gardens.

In the picture: garden of Villa Cattani Stuart

Let's talk about the splendid Imperial Villa. What are its characteristics and particularities?

Villa Imperiale in Pesaro is a beautiful and particular structure, immersed in the Colle San Bartolo park. The Villa consists of the fortress-structure built by the Sforzas in the 400th century and then passed into the hands of the new Lords of Pesaro: the Della Rovere. They enriched it by creating an incredible building, connected to the previous one through a sort of "Vasarian corridor", which has practically no function other than to amaze the guest with porticoes and terraces and act as a large container for the formal gardens arranged inside of the walls on three different levels. The Villa has quite strict opening hours (it is open for visits in spring/summer and only on Wednesdays at 16pm with departure by coach from the center of Pesaro!), but despite this it hosts over a thousand visitors every season. Luckily this year there will be some extraordinary openings on Saturday, dedicated in particular to the gardens and park, which I'm sure will be sold out. For this we must thank the Castelbarco Albani family, who still resides in the villa and who deprive themselves of a piece of their privacy to allow visits, as well as having been responsible for the impeccable restoration and maintenance of the grandiose property. It must also be said that much of the credit for this turnout is due to the guys from the Isairon tourist guide cooperative, who manage the visits to the Villa in a professional and passionate manner.

                               In the picture: Villa Imperiale


Last question: future plans?

In addition to the idea of ​​the events, there is still a lot of work to be done. We would like to involve other realities, allowing the opening to visits of other splendid gardens in the Marche, even if only on an extraordinary basis: from Villa Miralfiore in Pesaro to Villa Luzi in Treia, from Palazzo Marcinforte in Camerano to Villa Sgariglia in Grottammare, and many others. I would like to add that the doors of Gardens of the Marche they are open to anyone who wants to collaborate on this initiative which perhaps one day, involving a greater number of people, could become an association.{:}{:en}Discovering the natural treasures of Marche

An interview with Luca Orciani, creator of Gardens of the Marche

 

Gardens of the Marche: what is it about? How did the idea develop?

The idea of Gardens of the Marche came about a year ago reading an interview with Judith Wade, creator of Grandi Giardini Italiani, on the economy newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. The article highlighted the good results of opening gardens to visitors, inflow (now more than 8 million people per year) and number of jobs created by this “industry”. So I asked myself if it was possible to create something similar on a smaller scale in relation to the gardens of our region Marche, which are often unknown even to the local inhabitants who are used to visiting gardens in other parts of the world. Thanks to my long-standing experience in cultural associations, I started by creating a website (giardinidellemarche.it) to collect basic information for those who want to visit gardens in the Marche region. Such as opening days and hours, addresses, phone numbers, links to the institutional website and then later I created a Facebook page that in a few months gathered a community of more than 1000 followers. I recently opened an Instagram account “gardens_of_marche”, where I post pictures taken during my

wonderings in gardens.                                            Villa Bonaccorsi

How does the service work?

First, I would like to underline that Gardens of the Marche is a non-profit cultural initiative. We intend to give value – that is create value and profit – to historical gardens in the Marche region by encouraging new openings. We always recommend that there should be guided visits, admission with fee (in particular because of the high maintenance costs of gardens) and the three main aspects of visiting gardens should be included. In fact, to enjoy the beauty of views and flowerings, you should always present the architectural/historical perspective, the botanical aspects and the pure contemplation. We would also like to organize events, to connect garden visits and local food-and-wine delights, bringing music inside gardens with concerts and performances. Anything more that could improve the usability of gardens by citizens and the economic sustainability for gardens' managers.

How many locations did you manage to get involved?

At the moment there are six official gardens to visit, some of them by appointment: Villa Caperile, Villa Imperiale and Villa Cattani Stuart in Pesaro, Villa Buonaccorsi in Potenza Picena, Rocca d'Ajello in Camerino, Borgo Storico Seghetti Panichi in Castel di Lama . In addition, there are three botanical gardens of the Universities of Urbino, Camerino and Ancona, the latter at the Selva of Gallignano. The recent earthquake in the Marche region we lost the beautiful Villa Collio in San Severino Marche, which we hope it will be given back to the community together with its flourishing gardens.

Villa Cattani Stuart

Let's talk about Villa Imperiale. Which are its typical features?

Villa Imperiale in Pesaro is a beautiful and unique building, immersed in the park of Colle San Bartolo. The Villa is composed of the building-fortress built by Sforza during the Fifteenth century and then later handed down to the new Lords of Pesaro, i.e. Della Rovere. The noble Della Rovere family embellished the Villa with an extraordinary building, connected to the original by some kind of “Vasari Corridor” (ie an elevated enclosed passageway), which has not an actual purpose except astonishing the visitors with arcades and terraces, and limiting the formal garden located inside the walls on three levels. Although more than one thousand people per year visit the Villa, its opening hours are quite strict, in fact it can only be visited in Spring and Summer with bus leaving on Wednesdays at 4.30 pm from the city center of Pesaro! This year there will be some extra openings on Saturdays, organized particularly for gardens and park, that I'm sure they will be extremely successful. I would like to give thanks to the Castelbarco Albani family, who still lives in the villa and renounces some of the privacy to allow visits, and took care of the excellent restoration works and undisputable maintenance of the impressing property. Let's say also that the tour guides cooperative Isairon is mainly responsible for the successful inflow, since they manage visits with enthusiasm and in a professional manner.

Last question: future projects?

In addition to the idea of ​​organizing events, we still have a lot to do. We would like to connect with new locations, allowing more openings of the stunning gardens in the Marche region, even for special occasions: from Villa Miralfiore in Pesaro to Villa Luzi in Treia, from Palazzo Marcinforte in Camerino to Villa Sgariglia in Grottammare, and many blackberries. I would also like to say that our doors at Gardens of the Marche are open to anyone who wants to join in and become partner of our initiative that maybe one day, if more people get involved, could become an association.{:}

Leave a comment