History
The park around the Lévico Thermal Baths, the most important historic park in Trento Province, originated at the close of the 19th century with the rise of Lévico Terme to the rank of town and spa of European renown. The German landscape gardener Georg Ziehl (1873-1953) transformed a 13-hectare area of arable land into a large informal park, with open spaces for heliotherapy alternating with clusters and avenues of conifers: giant sequoias, douglas fi rs, exotic pines and evergreen magnolias, as well as beeches and limes. Restoration, following severe damage by the 2018 Vaia storm, has recently given the park a new lease of life. 250 new trees, a young birch grove, a collection of conifers and many deciduous trees with strikingly coloured foliage have been planted, respecting the original harmonious contrast of densely planted and grassed areas. 70,000 bulbs bring colour to the meadows in spring and fl owering herbaceous plants attract pollinators from summer to autumn, paying homage to an often forgotten culture that has historically distinguished Italy's great gardens. The Levico park is now run with particular attention to environmental quality and biodiversity. Since 2020 Villa Paradiso, the elegant building which was once the gardener's home, has housed the permanent exhibition ''Spazi cólti: i giardini nella storia d'Occidente'' (Cultivated spaces: Western gardens through history”), illustrating the development of parks and gardens with a selection of images, fi lms, documents and objects. Glimpses into historic gardens, transformed over time from private properties into public assets, emphasise the evolution of styles and of the true concept of the garden from an ideal to a real-life space.
A ''traditional'' exhibition itinerary is enriched by a 3D virtual tour with the use of visors, a selection of music and readings and multimedia resources with enhancing reality games.
