Campanian Villas & Gardens

A whole day in Pompeii awaits. Even if you have visited before, there is the likelihood that you will see many new buildings, as so many have been opened over the last few years following conservation. It is not just the buildings but the private gardens of many houses, Menander, Venus in the Shell, Golden Cupids and more that have been restored with specimens of plants, shrubs and trees that we know were grown there in the Roman period.

Today we will head north into Naples, the grittiest of cities, to explore some of its historic open spaces and gardens. First, we go to the formal Orto Botanico, established by Joseph Napoleon in 1807, with a rich stock of trees and shrubs from all latitudes and several glasshouses with varying climatic conditions. We will also see the spectacular cloister of Santa Chiara, an oasis of calm in the centre of Naples. In the afternoon we head out to Capodimonte to visit the famous art galleries there and the grounds of this former Royal Palace.

This day we visit the Villa at Oplontis – still with its fine array of wall paintings intact, including beautiful internal gardens between rooms. In contrast, we will also visit the rural villa – in effect a farm house – at Boscoreale to see and consider the countryside around Pompeii. A marvellous museum is alongside this villa, containing many of the carbonised remains of plants and produce destroyed in the towns around Vesuvius. We end the day with a visit to the Royal Bourbon Palace at Portici, where we visit the Orto Botanico, once part of a large royal estate.

This morning we head a short distance from our hotel to the Amalfi coast to view some 18^th and 19^th century gardens in at Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo in Ravello. Facing south, this coast allows for the growing of many tropical species. After lunch, we then take a trip to the Giardino della Minerva at Salerno. This was originally established in the beginning of the 14th century as a botanical garden by Matteo Silvatico who cultivated therapeutic plants for the instruction of medical students at the Scuola Medica di Salerno, one of the earliest medical schools in Europe.

We drive to the region north of Naples to visit the Royal Palace and the park at Caserta. Said to have been designed by Charles VI of Naples in close collaboration with his architect Vanvitelli, the palace is one of the largest in Europe. The grounds too, were designed by the king and Vanvitelli, a regimented garden in the Baroque style with a series of cascading fountains down its central axis.

Today we leave our hotel and return to Naples for our individual return flights home.