The Park of Villa Contarini - G.E. Ghirardi Foundation

What it is and where it is

Villa Contarini in Piazzola sul Brenta enchants with its harmonious lines and the sweetness and strength with which it imposes itself on the landscape. What one discovers only after entering its interior and then popping out the back, is the majestic "garden" it guards, a good 45 hectares of landscaped parkland: a unique setting and a natural heritage all to visit. The immense meadow cut by the irrigation ditch is interspersed with long tree-lined avenues, woods and a pond, making up what looks like unspoiled nature.

Why it is special

In front of so much splendor, especially in spring, during the meadow's blooms, it will be impossible not to feel as if you have stepped into a Jane Austen novel, and it is an extremely apt comparison: the landscape setting is indeed "English," with striking scenic variations to be admired as you stroll along the avenues. There is no shortage of majestic century-old plants, such as White Hornbeam, Lawson Cypress, Ginko Biloba and Black Walnut, but there are also specimens that have arrived here in recent times, such as medicinal, exotic and native plants introduced in a small dedicated area.