VILLA TARANTO
(VERBANIA)

The splendid complex of the Villa Taranto Gardens occupies most of the northeast side of Pallanza's Castagnola Point. The villa, today seat of the Prefecture, is located in the upper grounds of the park, quite a distance from the imposing white gates of the entrance facing the main road. The villa, its French Norman style most noticeable in the mansard roof with dormer windows and in the tall narrow polygonal tower decorated with cusps, was built in at the end of the 19th century by a certain Count Orsetti. In 1900 it was purchased by the Count of Sant'Elia, a chamberlain of the Court of Savoy, who then sold it to the Scottish captain Neil McEacharn, Royal Archer to the Queen, in 1931. It is thanks to the extensive and methodical work of this Scottish gentleman, lover of beauty and nature, that visitors today can enjoy the most beautiful botanical gardens in Europe. In 1939 McEacharn, having no heirs, decided to donate the entire property, which he created between 1931 and 1936, to the Italian nation. In 1952 the gardens were opened to the public and today are run by the "Ente Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto" which has not only brilliantly preserved the Captain's estate, but has also continued to enrich this incomparable botanical patrimony and the landscape with new varieties. The bower covered in purple and yellow wisteria, the "valletta", the ornamental fountains, the greenhouse with its ponds where the enormous leaves of the giant Amazonian lily float, the colorful tulips, the majestic avenue of conifers, the polychromatic Japanese maples, and the winter garden with its sub-tropical varieties are just a few of the marvels that await the visitor to this botanical paradise, a true masterpiece of art. The villa and its gardens were baptized Villa Taranto in memory of one of McEarcharn's ancestors, Field Marshall MacDonald, who was given the title of the Duke of Taranto by Napoleon.

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