The great Romantic Park of the Magnani-Rocca Foundation has regained its original charm thanks to a major restoration operation, the most significant in the landscape sector in Emilia-Romagna, made possible thanks to funding from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The restoration involved twelve hectares of parkland, restoring them to their historic beauty through a careful botanical and landscape enhancement operation. More than nine hundred trees, belonging to thirty-seven different species, were cared for, including three monumental specimens on the national list: a majestic Cedar of Lebanon, a rare Sequoia sempervirens, and an imposing Platanus. The intervention also introduced more than eight thousand new plants and over one hundred new species, enriching the existing plant stock. Completing the project are new botanical collections of Osmanthus, Viburnum, Cornus, Hydrangea, Magnolia and Iris, along with the creation of a natural biolago equipped with an advanced natural biofiltration and phytodepuration system.
Among the most innovative elements of the project is the Contemporary Garden, the first in Emilia-Romagna to be inspired by the principles of the “New Perennial Movement,” conceived by renowned landscape architect Piet Oudolf. This space breaks with traditional geometric patterns, embracing a freer, organic concept that is close to the natural rhythm of the seasons. Composed of perennials and light grasses, the garden covers eight hundred square meters with more than 6,500 specimens arranged according to a “matrix” logic, which guarantees continuous blooms from March to November. A project that interprets Luigi Magnani’s aesthetics and sensibility in a vegetal key.
The Romantic Park, which surrounds the Villa dei Capolavori, represents a unicum in Italy for the extraordinary overlapping of three centuries of landscape styles: the formal Italian style, the nineteenth-century English and the contemporary approach. A rare case even at the European level. No other institution in our country can boast of an art collection of such international relevance set in a green context as stratified and coherent, capable of offering a complete and harmonious aesthetic experience, in which the works of art housed in the villa dialogue with the “living” ones in the garden.
The restoration has also made it possible to rediscover the legacy of Marianna Panciatichi Ximenes d’Aragona in Paulucci, a prominent 19th-century naturalist and the first Italian woman to achieve international academic recognition in a male-dominated environment. Her figure has come to light again thanks to the historical research work that preceded the recovery of the park. Her collections-including 534 species of mollusks presented at the 1878 Paris World’s Fair, a herbarium with more than 4,000 specimens, and an ornithological collection with 1,260 specimens-witness her extraordinary scientific contributions. His salt-paper photographs, among the first in Italy to capture gardens, have also been a valuable reference. Today, thanks to the project, some of the plants Marianna cultivated in the 19th century are back in the park, re-establishing that link between science, aesthetics and historical memory.
The history of the Mamiano garden spans three centuries, offering visitors a rare example of landscape continuity and transformation. The original layout dates back to 1819, when General Filippo Paulucci delle Roncole designed an early formal garden. This was transformed into a romantic space by his son Alessandro and his wife Marianna in the second half of the 19th century, and further enriched in the 1960s by Luigi Magnani, who included an elegant Italian garden inspired by the Renaissance. The introduction of the new Contemporary Garden now completes this historical narrative, projecting the park’s landscape legacy into the future.
Over time, this enchanting place has hosted central figures of twentieth-century culture. Artists, writers, and intellectuals such as Giorgio Morandi, Eugenio Montale, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Alberto Moravia, Italo Calvino, Giacomo Manzù, and Princess Margaret of England have walked among its monumental trees. The majestic 37-meter-high Cedar of Lebanon and the ancient Sequoia are now protected trees.
Romantic Park is not only artistic beauty and cultural memory: it is also a true living laboratory of biodiversity. It is home to hundreds of plant species and represents an important “stepping stone” in the ecological network of the Parma area. Protected wildlife such as peacocks, foxes, squirrels, pheasants, hares, toads, frogs and woodpeckers find refuge here. The biolago with phytodepuration is among the first Italian examples of sustainable management of water resources in a historical context.
The entire intervention was conducted according to the principles of the Florence Charter, which establishes strict criteria for the protection of historic gardens. However, the work was able to integrate elements of contemporary innovation in a way that is respectful and consistent with the spirit of the Magnani Foundation, demonstrating that history and modernity can coexist harmoniously. This is the same principle that guided Luigi Magnani, who was able to juxtapose Goya and Burri in his art collection.
With this restoration, the Magnani-Rocca Foundation establishes itself as a benchmark for European cultural tourism, offering an experience that goes beyond the traditional museum visit. The renovated park is an investment in heritage enhancement, a model for the future where historical identity and contemporary vision meet. It is a place that invites discovery, reflection and even conviviality, ideal for families, scholars, historic garden enthusiasts and lovers of art and nature. Among ancient trees, works of art and evocative silences, the Romantic Park reveals itself today more than ever as a precious corner of Europe.
The Romantic Park can be visited from mid-March to mid-December from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed Mondays; also closed on Tuesdays in July and August). Tours are accessible and suitable for all ages. Specialized guided tours and educational workshops are available. It is also possible to experience the park on your own, with moments of relaxation, reading or picnicking in the greenery.
|
|
| Magnani-Rocca Foundation's Romantic Park restored: preserves three centuries of landscape styles |
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
