Italian Botanical Heritage, Italian Society of Arboriculture and Algol Tour present:
TREETOURS:
DISCOVERING ITALIAN TREES
In Italian territory at least 300 "monumental trees" have been counted: they are real
patriarchs of great naturalistic, historical and cultural value. Some are included in gardens
and in botanical gardens, others in the heart of the city, others in nature.
IBH, in collaboration with Società di Arboricoltura Italiana (Italian Society of Arboriculture)
and with tour operator Algol Tour, specialised in group and individual travels, proposes
several trips focused on our great trees, addressed to professionals, students, garden and
nature lovers.
They can last from 3 to 4 days, accompanied by arborists, agronomists and botanists and
they can be enriched by various activities (tree-climbing, pruning demonstrations, tours by
bike, on boat, by horse and balloon, trekking and rafting).
A share of the entire revenue will be donated to the Società d’Arboricoltura Italiana to
develop projects for the preservation of the Italian arboreal heritage.
IBH is looking forward to welcome you in the discovery of our enchanting Italy.
For information: www.italianbotanicalheritage.com/viaggi
For booking: www.algoltour.it ; tel. + 39 06 5139564
TREETOURS IN 2015
1-Monumental trees on Lake Orta
First day:
We start from the enchanting town of Orta, on its lake, with the aim of discovering its
unique, monumental wisteria in the town centre and its Town Hall garden.
Lunch on the island of San Giulio on the lake and tour of the island.
Second day:
Tour at the Sacro Monte of Orta, its woods and trees and its ancient chapels, reminding the
peregrines the important parts of Jesus life. All this is within a landscape enriched by
wonderful trees.
Lunch in Pettenasco, a few miles from Orta.
In alte afternoon, we leave for Varese and check in the hotel.
Third day:
Tour of Sacro Monte of Varese, a unique world heritage, and its trees.
Lunch on site, in the restaurant Le Colonne.
In the afternoon, we will go to Varese, to discover its trees and gardens, such as Villa
Mirabello’s. Free dinner.
Fourth day:
Back to Malpensa Airport or Milan.
Additional activities: tree-climbing; wine tasting
2-Monumental trees on Lake Maggiore
First day:
In the morning we arrive in Verbania and we go to our hotel.
Tour of Villa Taranto, a spectacular estate with a garden designed in 1931 and unique for its
scenarios made of many exotic plants and magnificent trees.
The Director of Villa Taranto, Dott. Robero Ferrari, with a specialised arborist, will lead a
specific tour on the garden for you.
In the afternoon, we will go to Ispria, to visit Villa Quassa, where there is a spectacular
Populus nigra ‘Italica’, 27 metres tall and e with a trunk circumference of more than 4
metres. Free dinner in Verbania
Second day:
Tour of Borromee Islands, private estates with a unique history and beautiliful palaces, a
specialised arborist guide will explain you the history of their trees. Along bushes of
rhododendrons and azaleas, camellias, old westeria and many exotic plants, we will discover
the huge Cupressus cashmeriana, 200 yrs old, considered, by the romantic French writer
Stendhal, “The most beautiful tree in the world”. It has been rescued from a terrible tornado
in June 2006. IN tis enchanting setting, we will meet Mr Gianfranco Giustina, “RHS Garden
of the year 2014” for a talk on the secret aspects of these unique sites.
Third day:
Tour of Brissago Island in the Swiss side of the Lake. Its botanic garden exists since 1950.
The exceptional mild climate allows the flourishing growing of something like 1700 species
from Mediterranean sites, Subtropical Asia, South Africa, Americas and Oceania.
Fourth day: Trip back home.
Additional activies: tree-climbing; wine tasting.
3-Monumental trees in Tuscany
First day:
Arrival in Tuscany and check in the Hotel, between Pienza and Montalcino. Tour of the
surroundings like, for example, the roof gardens of the grand Piccolomini Palace in Pienza.
Second day:
A stroll in the bushes up to the Quercia delle Checche, an old, huge oak with an old history
full of intriguing legends.
Lunch in a typical Tuscany restaurant.
In the afternoon, tour of San Gimignano and of its hidden trees.
Third day:
Private view of a selective vineyard and of its wine cellar followed by a stroll along the
Tuscany land for discovering its grand trees with their unique beauty and their purposes in
this landscape.
Fourth day:
On the way back to Milan Malpensa Airport, tour of Pavullo Palazzo Ducale with its huge
sequoia and a Lebanon cedar, two centuries old.
Additional activities: tour with arboriculturist expert: tree climbing; wine tasting at the Case
Basse Vineyard and stroll along its garden in Montalcino; visit to the Truffle Museum in San
Givanni d’Asso: tour of the park and the wine cellar (with wine tasting) in Villa Geggiano in
Castenuovo Berardenga.
4 – Monumental trees from Venezia to Verona
First day:
Arrival in Venice and free tour in centre town.
Second day:
A tour in the Biennale of Venice with a closer look to the exceptional trees in the Napoleonic
Garden. Free meals.
Third day:
Trip to Verona, the town of Romeo and Juliet. Check in the hotel.
In the afternoon, a stroll in the secret gardens of this romantic town and a look at the huge,
old platano in the centre town, next to the famous Arena.
Fourth day: Trip back home.
Along the travel, we will visit Villa Rizzardi, in the village of Pojega de Negrar, known for its
Teatro di Verzura, an enchanting avenue made of hornbeams to create peculiar perspective.
Additional activities: tree climbing; tour of the Historical Botanical Garden in Padua with
its famous “Goethe palm tree” , a very tall Chamaerops humilis loved by the German
Romantic writer - and its new green houses aimed to preserve the biodiversity in Italy; tour
of Guerrieri Rizzardi estate with their olive trees, their vineyards and their cellars where
they produce excellent Bardolino and a fragrant olive oil ready, both ready to be tasted on
the premises.