The greenhouse will be filled with culture
You may not have even heard of the Royal Gardens of Venice, despite being located in St. Mark's Square itself. and cover no less than 5,000 square meters. The reason? They have been falling into disrepair for almost a century, and have been closed for the last five years due to extensive restoration work.
“The Royal Gardens of Venice they originated as part of the Napoleonic project to rebuild the St. Mark's Square area, with the decision formalized in Napoleon Bonaparte's decree of January 11, 1807 to use the Procuratie Nuove building as the site of the royal palace” (now Correr Museum), they explain from the Venice Gardens Foundation, the foundation in charge of the Venetian gardens.
In 1920, these pavilions were opened to the public, but from the 1950s onwards, the place, a true source of pride for the Venetians, began to deteriorate.
“The balanced relationship between the gardens and the adjacent buildings was progressively lost. For several decades, its botanical heritage was compromised both due to the presence of unsuitable species for the site, as well as botanical and structural problems that had produced obvious signs of disease, to the point that its original design and composition had become almost illegible”, recalls the Foundation.
The Royal Gardens during the Venice Geographical Exhibition of September 1881
“The neoclassical pavilion, built by the architect Lorenzo Santi between 1816 and 1817, suffered visible damage while the 19th-century wrought-iron pergola, railings, and historic drawbridge were left in ruins, as were the incongruous buildings built over the years.”
They refer, for example, to a reinforced concrete bunker built during World War II, which due to its large size, had an extremely negative impact on the overall composition of the gardens and prevented the restoration of the pergola.
In addition, the Lorenzo Santi Pavilion, which had ceased to be used as a cafeteria since the end of the 19th century, served for more than sixty years as the headquarters of the Bucintoro Rowing Club . In 1962 it became the Air terminal from the new airport and finally, at an information point of the municipal tourist office.
This is what the gardens looked like at the end of their restoration
THE GARDENS TODAY
After five years of work, the bunker and other similar buildings have been demolished; the neoclassical Santi pavilion and the 19th century pergola, restored; the main greenhouse and the smaller one, rebuilt and the historic drawbridge, put into operation, the Royal Gardens have regained their splendor.
Of course also the original design of the garden has been revitalized, and 22 new trees have been planted, around 800 new bushes, 6,560 flowering plants, more than 3,000 bulbs...
Furthermore, the space whose access is free and it can be done both from Saint Mark's Square and from the Riva degli Schiavoni -through the canal-, it will be full of life: the east of the great greenhouse has been baptized as "The Human Garden" and in it all kinds of artistic and cultural interventions will be carried out. In its elegant central pavilion, in addition, The cafeteria has been reopened. And the whole place is prepared for the little ones to learn and have fun.