Giardino Torre

Giardino Torre, known since the 18th century as Giardino del Francese (Garden of the Frenchman) or of Biancour, named after the family of gardeners who took care of it, is the last productive evidence of the Bourbon's royal estate, Capodimonte.
The site is divided into three distinct spaces: the Royal Fruttiera, the Flower Garden, and the Purpignera Garden.
The Royal Fruttiera, where goods destined for the king's table were produced, became a place for botanical experimentation and acclimatization, in which pineapples, citrus and fruit trees of all species were grown. In the center of the garden stands a majestic specimen of Camphor, imported from China around 1825 and listed as one of Italy's monumental trees in 2021.
The orchard also houses the Casamento Torre, a building whose construction probably preceded the Royal Site of Capodimonte. From the main body, you climb the tower from which there is a wide view of Vesuvius and the eastern part of Naples.
From the Fruttiera you enter the Flower Garden, which towards the end of the 19th century, as the fashion for exoticism spread, housed botanical curiosities such as pink banana trees, tripetal magnolias, ''lady's slippers'' orchids and a rich collection of ancient camellias, which can still be admired today. Following the recent restoration, the botanical collection has been supplemented with majestic specimens of Cycadales, ancestral plants related to conifers, aristolochia, solandra, passiflora, and plants for flower and foliage cutting.
From the Flower Garden you enter the Purpignera Garden, whose term comes from the Neapolitan take on the French word pépiniére meaning nursery.
This small secret garden was probably an area devoted to the production of ornamental plants, cut flowers, aromatic plants and vegetables. It is still characterized by seedbeds and planters for growing cut flowers and espaliered lemons.
All restoration and enhancement of the architectural botanical and landscape components were handled by Minerva Restauri and Euphorbia Srl, the Benefit company leading the entire project.
Today Giardino Torre represents a precious treasure chest of biodiversity, both Mediterranean and exotic, with great historical value.