Villa Taranto

Located between Intra and Pallanza, the work in the garden began in 1932 at the estate, that captain Neil McEacharn had purchased from the marquise of Sant’Elia, with the ambition of creating a botanical complex of international standing.

Born in the south of Scotland in 1884, McEacharn came from a wealthy aristocratic Scottish family, which allowed him full-time devotion to the great passions of his life: botany, gardening and travelling. He was one of the few impassioned gentlemen, who succeeded in touring the world repeatedly (7 times, the first of which when he was only 16), always searching for new plants to acclimatize in his gardens. The Captain managed to reconcile aesthetic and the botanical demands in the best way, succeeding in creating a garden with plants of great botanical value, as he had previously done in his castle in Scotland.

With an assiduous and patient approach he succeeded in transforming the 16 hectares of the estate into a rich scene of flower-beds, ponds, parterres, woods, fountains and lawns. Explore the great selection of plants form the whole world; the park now counts over 8.500 different species. McEacharn lived in Villa Taranto until his death in April of 1964, but he had already in 1938 given his jewel to the Italian State. In 1952 it was opened to the public, so that we can all share this extraordinary experience.

Opening Times:
From March 19 to November (including holidays) from 8.30 am to 6.30 pm. In October from 8.30 am to 5.00 pm.

Possibility to book tours for groups and educational tours for schools.

Tickets:
Adults € 10,00
Children (from 6 to 14 years old): € 5,50
School groups per person: € 4,50
Parents with school groups: € 4,50
Groups 21-100 people: € 7,50.
Group leader has free entry. 1 teacher pr every 20 students enter free.
Handicapped persons are free.
Dogs are allowed if kept on leash.

La villa fu realizzata nel 1875 dall’architetto ticinese Augusto Guidini e purtroppo non è visitabile in quanto sede della Prefettura dal 1996. I suoi giardini botanici coprono un’area di circa 16 ettari ed ospitano decine di migliaia di piante.

Sono percorsi da 7 km di viali e sono famosi in tutto il mondo e considerati tra i più belli in Europa. Questo magnifico luogo fu realizzato del capitano scozzese Neil Mac Eacharn, che acquistò la villa nel 1931 con la precisa ambizione di creare un giardino da sogno sulle sponde del Lago Maggiore. Il nome rende omaggio ad un antenato di famiglia proclamato duca di Taranto da Napoleone Bonaparte.

Nel 1939 il capitano Mac Eacharn, non avendo eredi , decise di donare l’intera proprietà allo Stato italiano, ottenendo in cambio il permesso di essere sepolto nel mausoleo collocato al centro del parco. Lo stile è fondamentalmente inglese, anche se non mancano ispirazioni italiane come statue, fontane, specchi d’acqua, terrazzi, cascate ovvero tutti quegli ornamenti che contribuiscono a donare un ulteriore alone magico a questo giardino da favola.