User Reviews
The Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto are botanical gardens located on the western shore of Lake Maggiore in Verbania, Piedmon. They are open daily; an admission fee is charged.
The gardens were established 1931-1940 by Scotsman Neil Boyd McEacharn who bought an existing villa and its neighbouring estates, cut down more than 2000 trees, and undertook substantial changes to the landscape, including the addition of major water features employing 8 km of pipes. He set the name 'Villa Taranto' (Taranto House) in honour of his ancestor Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre MacDonald, named Duke of Taranto by Napoleon. They opened to the public in 1952, and after McEacharn's death in 1964 have been run by a non-profit organization. The Villa Taranto itself is not open to the public; it is used by the government.
Today the gardens contain nearly 20,000 plant varieties, representing more than 3,000 species, set among 7 km of paths. Among its collections are azalea, cornus, greenhouses of Victoria amazonica, and 300 types of dahlias. It also contains a small herbarium and the founder's mausoleum.
References: