Verde Grazzano 2022

What is Verde Grazzano? When is the Show Verde Grazzano?

We will answer these questions if you continue reading… but first of all we want to tell you a little about the history of the place where it is held and why it is called Grazzano Visconti.

 

Grazzano Visconti: First of all the Castle was born!

Grazzano Visconti, a hamlet of Vigolzone (PC), in 1394 was a normal village, without a castle. In 1395 Gian Galeazzo Visconti gave permission to his sister Beatrice Visconti married to Giovanni Anguissola to build one. Since then, Grazzano has had a real castle that behaves like one.

Around and within its walls there are bloody clashes, hanging of prisoners and conspirators, glorious episodes (grazzano.it) and it also houses a ghost that is still present today.

 

Will maintenance be done at the Grazzano Visconti castle?

During the 1600s many maintenance works were carried out including the replacement of the wooden drawbridge with a stone “square” structure – (see image).

However, the complete renovation took place at the end of the 19th century by the hand of Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone, an enlightened owner, who restored it to its beauty and consigned it to history as we see it today.

 

When was the medieval village Grazzano Visconti born?

The village was always born by the will and by the hand of Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone flanked by the Arch. Campanini on a horseshoe design around the castle. The Duke’s desire was to translate into reality the concepts of Arts & Crafts in force at the time and deriving from England and its peers throughout Europe: to celebrate the arts and crafts by allowing them to develop freely in his country.

The teaching…

“[…] For this reason, in addition to the houses, in the village of Grazzano Visconti there are many buildings dedicated to teaching the inhabitants all the tools useful for living a peaceful and dignified life: the kindergarten for children, the craft professional training school for young people and adults , the theatre, the Giuseppe Visconti Institution where the managers of Carlo Erba, one of the most advanced pharmaceutical companies of the time, had to hold free lessons in hygiene and cutting-edge agricultural techniques. Many charitable activities supported by the Duke also started from here, such as the expeditions that were supposed to help eradicate malaria.

The craftsmanship…

The craftsmanship produced here, especially that of wood and wrought iron, has been very popular and appreciated for a long time, so much so that we still talk about the Grazzano style. However, Duke Giuseppe had also intuited that Grazzano Visconti would have been a great tourist attraction, as well as an artisanal one: for this reason, already in his time he had a hotel built and facilities dedicated to catering for travellers. He also created everything that would help the inhabitants and visitors immerse themselves in a timeless atmosphere, such as the typical costumes that can still be admired on postcards and vintage photographs. (grazzanovisconti.com)

So the peculiarity of the town, even more than the delightful aesthetic aspect, is its history marked by this vision of personal growth of the citizen and of the community which had to be self-sufficient.

 

 

How was the Grazzano Visconti Castle Park born? How was it designed? What plants can we find there?

Before the 19th-century restructuring, the peasants lived in hovels and old stables around the castle. Today’s 120,000 m2 park did not exist.

Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone designs its shape and distribution himself “[…] where different inspirations coexist harmoniously: the rational lines of the Italian garden and the avenues coexist with the romantic atmosphere of the wooded areas, the sinuous paths, the fountains and the marble statues that allow themselves to be covered by the caress of creepers such as ivy, moss and roses.

In the park of over 120,000 square meters, native essences of the Grazzano area live – such as English oaks, elms, black poplars, hazelnuts, field maples, cherry trees, hornbeams and ash trees – together with specimens of exotic origin such as cedars, American cypresses and various expanses of bamboo. The Duke’s choice of plants wanted to obtain an architectural effect that would make the garden attractive throughout the year: so here are many evergreens, such as cypresses, pines, holm oaks, yews and myrtle and box shrubs. Among the flowers, roses dominate, with bright colors and a delicate scent.

Some centuries-old specimens stand out, including an over 150-year-old plane tree, the oldest plant in the park, an over 80-year-old lime tree and a splendid group of Lebanese cedars.       
In the park, there are so many corners where the inhabitants of the castle could walk, play, rest and enjoy the shadows of the trees and the cool waters of the fountains, places and glimpses that still offer themselves to the eyes of visitors today. Behind the castle, the large Belvedere avenue, the Bacchus stop, the labyrinth and the little house that Duke Giuseppe had built for the games of his two youngest daughters, Uberta and Ida Pace known as Nane, are particularly suggestive.” (grazzanovisconti.com)

 

Ingresso al Parco
Viale del parco
Piazzetta dopo l'ingresso
La casetta dei giochi

 

Curiosity about Grazzano Visconti

Who is Aloisia?

In the park there is also the statue of Aloisia, a sad damsel killed for love, today the ghost of the castle who punishes those who ignore her, rewards those who bring her gifts and obviously sides with loves with a happy ending.

At night – so says the story that has been handed down – she takes refuge within the walls of the castle and behaves in a very abusive way, pulling at the feet and slapping the guests, unless they give her gifts, hanging from the statue, placed in a some rooms, necklaces and jewels, which satisfy the vanity of the female spectrum. (grazzano.it)

 

A curiosity about the Duke’s character

Interesting – and shareable – the curiosity of a painting present on a wall of the castle where the nature of Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone appears quite clear in which the inscription (Otla ni adraug e enetapipmi), engraved in the manner of Leonardo da Vinci – on the contrary – means “Impipatene and look up”. 

 

 

 

When was the Green Grazzano Exhibition-Market born?

In the idyllic setting of the park and the Grazzano Visconti castle, which you will understand well how beautiful it was to tell, the Verde Grazzano event was born in 2018.

When is Grazzano Visconti Park open to the public?

In 2007 the park of the castle became public and can therefore be enjoyed by the inhabitants of Grazzano Visconti in primis, but also by the rest of the world which soon populates this space through municipal initiatives.

When was Verde Grazzano 2022 held? And what were the most important events? 

The 2022 Verde Grazzano edition was held from 23 to 25 September under a bright sun.

The arrangement of the gazebos winds along some paths in the Grazzano Visconti park so that they can be covered in a single tour. Many beautiful plants, garden accessories, furniture and sculptures and, at the end of the tour, the necessary catering.

Among the events, the tour of the park accompanied as a guide by the Garden Designer Carlo Contesso who tells and reveals the strengths and perspective fires; for the Landscapers the intervention by Paolo Pejrone stands out who talks about an easy and sustainable garden; then demonstrations of tree climbing, weaving branches, painting, foraging and the presentation of two books (“Great Italian Gardens: the essence of paradise” and “Cooking the Garden”).

 

Viali di gazebi interessanti
Viali di gazebi interessanti

The Garden World Council

We are sure that before going to see this event you have taken stock of what size of floor plan you need and where to put them. This is the thought that must always pop into your mind before seeing an event where magnificent plants are on sale!

Now on horseback! Work awaits us! Our new wonderful outdoor space is about to be born!

GOOD WORK and … if you have any questions please write to info@mondodelgiardino.com

Image sources: thanks visitpiacenza.it for the statue of Aloisia, ilmondoattraversoalice.com for the playhouse, volgareitaliano.it for the painting with the phrase backwards, grazzano.it for the map of the village, bussoladiario.com for the logo of the event, iuav.it for the squared masonry.