The 18 th century Villa Pisani at Stra, near Venice, has been nominated The Most Beautiful Park in Italy for 2008. The villa, which was constructed by the wealthy Pisani merchant family, was considered one of the marvels of Italy. Unfortunately, during the second half of last century the once magnificent garden suffered a long period of neglect and little remained of its former glory. In 1992, the architect Giuseppe Rallo, from the Department of Architectural and Landscape Heritage, with the backing of the local provincial governments of Venice, Belluno, Padua and Treviso, began patiently and lovingly to restore the park, making the most of the limited funds available to gradually replant shrubs and flowers, renew the historic orangerie and sow the lawns with bulbs and wildflowers.
The prize is sponsored by the US garden machinery manufacturers Briggs & Stratton and entitles Villa Pisani to enter the next stage of the competition for the most beautiful European park.
Visitors can admire the results of Rallos labour Tuesdays to Fridays all day till sunset.
For information: www.villapisani.org
