If you love nature, gardens, and colourful landscapes full of flowers, then you can rent a car and drive to Villa Hanbury in Ventimiglia. You will be amazed by its fantastic garden.
The Hanbury Botanical Gardens in Ventimiglia extend on the promontory of Capo Mortola in Ventimiglia, a few kilometres from the French border, in an area of about 18 hectares, partly cultivated as a garden with subtropical plants from different Mediterranean climate zones such as the Mediterranean Basin, California, Chile, South Africa and Australia. The rest is occupied by spontaneous Mediterranean vegetation, trees, and shrubs. The promontory enjoys an exceptionally mild climate, with winter disturbances rarely reaching 0°C. The existence of different microclimates has favoured the establishment and acclimatisation of species from different latitudes. There are a number of tours that organise visits to the Hanbury Gardens, but the advice is to hire a vehicle to be more independent and not have to put up with the hassle of other visitors.
The history of the Hanbury gardens
The gardens came into being in 1867 when Thomas Hanbury bought the old Palazzo Orengo and the land he owned to turn it into an acclimatisation garden for exotic plants. His brother Daniel, a pharmacist and botanist, played an important role in the planning and realisation of the project. Approximately half of the land was intended for the cultivation of exotic plants from the most diverse countries, collected according to systematic, phytogeographical, ecological, aesthetic and landscape criteria. From 1867, Thomas Hanbury established contacts with gardens both in neighbouring France and in other parts of Europe. In the years that followed, the development of the gardens gained momentum through collaborations with researchers from all over the world.
Visit the gardens
Visiting the Hanbury Gardens is always a pleasant experience: the plants are cultivated according to their life and reproduction cycles, so in every season you will have the chance to see both plants in full bloom and plants at rest. In fact, at any time of year, you will have the opportunity to witness a variety of colours, some of which are native and others tropical species. The visit is also made irresistible by the architectural elements scattered around the property, including statues, fountains, staircases, and arches.
The property is also rich in history as many of the oldest elements have been preserved, such as the perimeter walls and the ancient Via Julia Augusta. This Roman Road that runs through the property divides it between the north and south. It was the access to the property before the Napoleonic Road was built. The advice is to take a map of the park and go in search of the many corners created by the Hanbury family.
