Valsanzibio: Giardino Barbarigo

My Italian sojourn took advantage of the accommodating guidance and transport provided by

The Other Side of Venice – Veneto Tours, with Miriam at the helm.

Valsanzibio Main Allee  © Alice Joyce

We departed Venice early one morning for a day trip to the beautiful countryside of the Veneto, southwest of Padova. The destination:  A dream-like Baroque masterpiece, VALSANZIBIO, its magnificent landscape  traced back to 1669 and the Venetian aristocrat, Zuane Francesco Barbarigo – with a breathtaking layout created by none other than the Vatican architect, Bernini.

Valsanzibio Rainbow Fountain Putto Photo © Alice Joyce

Six generations of the Barbarigo family, with successors Nobile Marco Antonio Michiel, Counts Donà dalle Rose, followed by three generations of Nobili Pizzoni Ardemani – All have nurtured the property’s awe-inspiring landscape architecture, replete with delightful water features around every turn, amid wondrous views and vistas that continue to draw present-day garden lovers from afar, and travelers drawn to Italy’s rich cultural history.

Vista to Hillside  © Alice Joyce

Forty acres in all, the gardens were meant to encompass the theme of “man’s progress towards his own perfectibility or salvation” as the brochure explains.

To this end, statuary by Enrico Marengo adorns a paradise of a plan highlighted by streams and pools, stairways, cascades…

Valsanzibio Water Joke  © Alice Joyce

… and entrancing water ‘jokes.’

Valsanzibio Baroque Rockery  © Alice Joyce

Valsanzibio Water Theater Detail  © Alice Joyce

Giardino Barbarigo Fountain © Alice Joyce

Valsanzibio’s exquisite geometry takes in a vast boxwood maze, preserved by the owners along with the landscape’s fantastical fountains and parkland greenery, restored after the damage incurred by occupation during World War II.

Valsanzibio: Walking the Maze  © Alice Joyce