ITALIAN GARDENS

CONDITIONS

TOUR INCLUDES

  • 3 nights in Hotel with an overnight treatment and Breakfast;
  • All Dinners;
  • Bus available for the whole tour;
  • Inputs and Guided Visit to the Gardens and to the mentioned sites in the tour;
  • Promotuscia assistance;
  • medical and baggage insurance

TOUR DOES NOT INCLUDE

  • Airplane flight;
  • Drinks with meals;
  • Porter at the hotel;
  • Tourist tax in Hotels;
  • Extras, tips and what not mentioned in “The fee includes”;

HOTEL

ITINERARY

ISCHIA, CAPRI AND THE ISLANDS OF THE SUN

An itinerary to discover the remarkable gardens in the two islands of Campania.

Day 1

Departure by bus from Napoli train station or Napoli Capodichino airport.

Arrival in Ischia where you meet your  Tour Guide.
Visit to the beautiful De La Mortella Gardens. In 1956, Lady Walton called the famous landscape architect Russell Page to design the structure of the garden, by integrating it into the picturesque volcanic rock formation. Mortella is divided into two parts: a lower garden in the Valley, and an upper  garden on the hill terraced by dry walls; it extends over an area of ​​about 2 hectares, and houses a vast collection of exotic and rare plants, which is enriched year after year; due to the collections of its plants, La Mortella can be considered just like a  botanical garden.
The garden has  been well designed, and is surrounded  by  a unique  rocky environment and views of the Mediterranean sea,  embellished by fountains, pools and waterways that allow the cultivation of a superb collection of aquatic plants such as papyrus, flower lotus and tropical water lilies. The various areas of the garden are connected by avenues, paths, dry walls, ramps and stairs that allow visitors to reach the highest point where they enjoy stunning views of the Forio  bay. There are three tropical greenhouses in the garden: Victoria House, where the Amazonian Victoria is cultivated, the Orchard greenhouse, and the Temple of the Sun.
Other areas to see are the Thai Hall, a quiet place for meditation, surrounded by lotus flowers, peonies, bamboos and Japanese maples; the Crocodile Waterfall, set on  the upper garden, whose waterway flows between olive trees and the agapanthus; the Nymphaeum  with a  formal design between the Mediterranean vegetation and William’s Rock, where the ashes of the composer are preserved. The work of Lady Walton in creating this enchanted garden is well-known among lovers of gardens and plants around the world. One new hybrid  orchid has received her name: The Miltassia Lady Susanna Walton. It can been seen in the Orchard’s Greenhouse .
Check in to Continental Mare **** or an other Hotel.
Dinner in Hotel.

Day 2

Breakfast in hotel.

Departure by motor vessel for Capri, and excursion of the island.

Visit to Augusto’s Gardens, the most relaxing place, with a breathtaking views after crossing  the main street of  Capri full of elegant shops. It is the centre of the glamour social life of the island. The gardens are the result of an arrangement of the 1930s, commissioned by the German steel magnate Krupp, who also wanted to realize a   winding street, ( it is named after himself), an engineering masterpiece,  falling sheer into the sea  that  connects the gardens and  Certosa to Marina Piccola .

Each gardens’ terrace  offers a different panorama,  and the green is the main colour among various flora species on the island. From the terraces, it is possible to  admire the  ancient vaults of  Certosa, or  Faraglioni, Marina Piccola bay,  or the mountains that fall into the sea.

Time for lunch in a typical restaurant, ( included).

Afterwards,  visit to Casa Rossa Museum, a historic residence painted in Pompeian red and characterized by several architectural styles. It was embellished by the American Colonel John Clay H. MacKowen, with archaeological artefacts, which he collected  during his walks through the paths of Capri, transforming his Caprese house into a real cultural center. He followed the example of Axel Munthe.

In the halls of the Casa Rossa, you can admire the permanent exhibition ” L isola Dipinta (The painted island), a pictorial journey to Capri and Anacapri between the nineteenth and twentieth century”, a display of canvases signed by important artists such as Barret, Carelli, De Montalant, Carabain, Lovatti, Hay, Casciaro, Vianelli. Moreover, here there are preserved the statues recovered from the  seabed of Grotta Azzurra, well-preserved works that decorated the nymphaeum wanted by Emperor Tiberius to celebrate his love for this area.

At 17.30 departure from Capri for Ischia by motor vessel.

Visit to the estate and dinner included with wine tasting.

Dinner in hotel.

Day 3

Breakfast in hotel.

Departure for Capri by motor vessel  and transfer to Anacapri.

Visit to Villa San Michele, built at the behest of  Axel Munthe, a Swedish doctor and writer who decided to settle himself in Anacapri, realizing a villa on the remains of an ancient chapel dedicated to Saint Michele. The result was a complex articulated on several levels: the studio  is on the first floor, while the loggia crosses pergolas,  columns, and the belvedere which overlooks the Gulf of Naples.

 

In Villa San Michele there are preserved archaeological artefacts recovered by Munthe in Capri, Anacapri and elsewhere. Among the main objects that can be admired in Villa San Michele, are the Medusa which adorned the temple of Venus and Rome, objects of medieval sacred art, eighteenth-century furniture from Tuscany, Roman frescoes and sculptures like the marble bust of ‘ Emperor Tiberius, the table with marble slab in cosmatic style, the Sicilian wrought iron chandelier and the Egyptian sphinx. In the garden you can also admire a series of Mediterranean plants – such as camellias, hydrangeas, beautiful bushes of roses, pines and cypresses – surrounded by a typical white colonnade with pergola, one of the characteristic features of local villas. The garden  also has an amazing view of the Gulf of Naples.

Lunch included in a typical restaurant.

Return to Capri and then to Ischia.

Dinner in a typical restaurant and return to the hotel.

Day 4

Breakfast in hotel. During the morning, guided tour of Ravino Garden. A fascinating tour in the green, to discover unique sceneries, rare and precious botanical examples. The rich collection of succulent plants cultivated outdoor, always enriched by new species from around the world, is the result of the passion of Giuseppe D’ Ambra.

Lunch included in a typical restaurant.

In the afternoon departure for Napoli by ferry.

Transfer to the train station.

End of the tour.