The Park of Villa Reale is the perfect setting for the luxurious Villa. Each owner of the historic residence played their part in its development, adding buildings, plants, flowers, statues and other decorations.
Conservation work
Vegetation
The restoration work to the historic park of Villa Reale started in October 2014. The first activities launched by the new owners Henric and Marina Grönberg involved analysing the current condition of existing vegetation and planning conservation work spanning 5 years. The staff of Gruppo Giardini began to catalogue the existing species, evaluating their condition.
Plants with infestations were treated by hand without mechanical intervention, and particular care was taken to safeguard pre-existing plants of particular value. Specialist gardeners carried out pruning of large shrubs and trees, some of which are of a height which requires tree climbing expertise.
With the aim of conserving existing vegetation, specific plant disease prevention work was carried out on particular examples.
Fountains and Irrigation
Following the botanical analysis phase, a plan was created to restore the fountain plumbing by checking over the water flow, springs and holding tanks.
A new irrigation system for the lawns and plants was then designed. The latest technologies were used in order to cover the vast surface areas and to save as much water as possible.
A highly specialist system has been put in place to water over 100 historic lemon tree pots.
Green Theatre
A special mention should be given to the Green Theatre which given its historic importance is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary elements of the Park. The length of the theatre is an impressive 24 metres, planted in 1690 by the Orsetti family. During the 1800s, when Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi owned Villa Reale, the theatre hosted concerts by Niccolò Paganini – a frequent visitor to the Villa – and many theatre performances.
Restoration work included the introduction of a steel structure to support the green ‘walls’ of the theatre and to make the geometric forms of the plants more regular.
In addition to commissioning these highly specialised works, the owners have demonstrated a forward-thinking approach, launching a programme of re-planting for both pre-existing species and for specimens destroyed by the storm on the 5th of March 2015.
It has been both a huge task and a great honour to be part of such a prestigious project as the one of Henric and Marina Grönberg.
Alessandro De Francesco – Gruppo Giardini
