garden | Helle Gade

After the amazing interior of the palace comes the spectacular garden.

The garden is full of flowers and exotic plants of great rarity, which grow thanks to the particularly mild climate of the Borromean Gulf.

Everything on the island has been designed to create a scenic effect, including the “Theatre” constructed at the end of the superimposed terraces, dominated by a statue of a Unicorn, the heraldic emblem of the Borromeos, which is flanked by statues representing Nature and Art.

Unfortunately we just didn’t have enough time to explore the garden.

The huge, extraordinary garden is further decorated with ponds, fountains and a plethora of statues dating from the second half of the 17th century.

The white peacocks that wander over the manicured lawns add their grace to this enchanting spot.

I must admit I thought the white peacocks would look more impressive. They looked a bit scruffy.

Adjacent to the palace and the gardens is part of the village which used to occupy the island, with some restaurants and souvenir shops. You can see the shops through the foliage.

Here’s a little panorama from the front of the palace.

The palace hides its treasures behind a simple looking front.

Next blog post will be of the two last Borromero islands we visited that day.

The climb up to the Upper Cave is not just a passageway between the two caves, but a path with numerous interesting features.

115 steps will lead you to a path climbing up in a series of hairpin bends and surrounded by the flowers and plant beds of the Botanical Garden, recently built.

This walkway is also part of the work that was carried out to enable visitors to see the waterfall; in the past you had to make your way uphill through prickly thorns and scrubland.