13 Giugno 2024
Secret gardens: Parco Malingri di Bagnolo
Text by Giusi Galimberti.
Catalogued among the historical parks of Piedmont, the Parco Malingri di Bagnolo, in the province of Cuneo, was created in the 17th century as a formal Italian garden. With its characteristic geometries of box, hornbeam and yew hedges, it extends over about two hectares and in the 19th century was transformed with passion by the Countesses Malingri according to the romantic fashion of English-style greenery.
Over the last 40 years, the current owners Aimaro and Consolata Oreglia d'Isola, following the family tradition, have taken care of the landscaping/pictorial aspect, with the intention of always having different shades according to the seasons, planting new species and varieties to expand the existing collections. The most striking moment is when the acidophilas are in bloom: the large colourful patches of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias japonica and sasanqua, kalmias and hydrangeas. These varieties love the very acidic soils characteristic of this area and are sought after in the best nurseries in Italy and abroad, or transplanted from other parks, such as the rare camellias of Villa Anelli on Lake Maggiore.
As soon as one looks out into the lawn behind the villa, one is fascinated in spring by the imposing ‘tulip tree', the Liriodendrum tulipifera, with its yellow and orange corollas. In 2017, Baroness Consolata then decided to link the park and the castle, planting hundreds of rhododendrons, which over the years have covered the entire hill up to the walls and created a fascinating path. Dominating them all are the colours of the Malingri family coat of arms: white and red. May, the month of the extraordinary blossoming of the rhododendrons, is also magical for visiting the historical part of the feudal complex: the Palace with the 15th-century fresco cycle in the chapel of San Sebastiano and the Tower of 1000, which stands among centuries-old trees.
Catalogued among the historical parks of Piedmont, the Parco Malingri di Bagnolo, in the province of Cuneo, was created in the 17th century as a formal Italian garden. With its characteristic geometries of box, hornbeam and yew hedges, it extends over about two hectares and in the 19th century was transformed with passion by the Countesses Malingri according to the romantic fashion of English-style greenery.
Over the last 40 years, the current owners Aimaro and Consolata Oreglia d'Isola, following the family tradition, have taken care of the landscaping/pictorial aspect, with the intention of always having different shades according to the seasons, planting new species and varieties to expand the existing collections. The most striking moment is when the acidophilas are in bloom: the large colourful patches of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias japonica and sasanqua, kalmias and hydrangeas. These varieties love the very acidic soils characteristic of this area and are sought after in the best nurseries in Italy and abroad, or transplanted from other parks, such as the rare camellias of Villa Anelli on Lake Maggiore.
As soon as one looks out into the lawn behind the villa, one is fascinated in spring by the imposing ‘tulip tree', the Liriodendrum tulipifera, with its yellow and orange corollas. In 2017, Baroness Consolata then decided to link the park and the castle, planting hundreds of rhododendrons, which over the years have covered the entire hill up to the walls and created a fascinating path. Dominating them all are the colours of the Malingri family coat of arms: white and red. May, the month of the extraordinary blossoming of the rhododendrons, is also magical for visiting the historical part of the feudal complex: the Palace with the 15th-century fresco cycle in the chapel of San Sebastiano and the Tower of 1000, which stands among centuries-old trees.
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And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles- Frances Hodgson Burnett - |
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