La Mortella Garden, Ischia
Fascinatingly beautiful Italian island called Ischia is known for its diverse La Mortella Garden (Giardini La Mortella). This place has been delighting visitors with its grandness since the 20th century. Over three thousand kinds of exotic plants take up 2 hectares of the garden. In 2004 La Mortella was recognized as the best garden among the hundreds of other popular ones in Italy. During the summertime, it also hosts a lot of concerts and theater performances here.
History of La Mortella
The history of the private garden on Ischia is inextricably linked with a love story. Famous English composer William Walton and his wife once visited the island in 1949 and after that, they couldn’t bring themselves to leave. Susana wished that her husband would have a place to fuel his inspiration so she planted a garden on mountain slopes. It was named after a certain kind of myrtle since its bushes covered the whole slope area. Today visitors can enjoy an unbelievably stunning park zone with the rarest plants from all over the world growing within it.
Things to see in La Mortella
The garden is divided into two levels – upper and lower. A special subtropical climate is maintained in the lower one. Here you will find palm trees, cedars, camellias, ferns, dracaenas, magnolias and other heat-loving plants. Gigantic Amazon water lilies and lotuses decorate garden’s reservoirs, the greenhouse is filled with orchids and lianas. Dry climate prevails on the upper level. Cactuses, yuccas, and agaves grow here. There are also gazeebos and sculpture placed along the alleys of this charming garden. Later the William Walton Memorial Museum was opened here.
How to get
You can reach La Mortella by public transport. Buses CS will take you from Ischia, Casamicciola Terme and Lacco Ameno and buses CD – from Forio.
Opening hours: the garden is open only from March 29 to October 31, from 09:00 till 19:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. It is, however, closed on other days.
Admission: a full ticket will cost you 12 euros, a reduced one – 7 euros. Children under 6 are free of charge.
