Giusti Garden

The Giusti Garden is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved Renaissance Italian gardens in Europe, created in 1580 by the noble Giusti family next to their palace in the Veronetta neighbourhood. The garden represents a perfect example of a sixteenth-century formal garden with rigorous geometries, perspective symmetries, superimposed terraces, fountains, mythological statues and the famous maze of centuries-old cypresses that creates intricate paths between pruned boxwood hedges. The garden develops on two main levels: the flat lower terrace with geometric parterres, gravelled paths adorned with classical statues depicting Roman deities, the vegetal maze and flowerbeds following the model of the formal Italian garden; and the upper terrace dug into the hill with artificial grottoes, nymphaea decorated with grotesque masks, water features and a panoramic balcony offering spectacular views over Verona, the Adige and the surrounding hills.

Avenues of centuries-old cypresses over 20 metres tall frame the perspectives. The garden was visited and admired by illustrious figures of the European Grand Tour between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries: the German poet Wolfgang Goethe defined it in 1786 as "one of the most beautiful gardens in Italy", as did the Russian Emperor Alexander I, King George III of England and numerous European artists, writers and intellectuals who described it as the pinnacle of Renaissance landscape art. Even today the garden retains its original sixteenth-century appearance thanks to constant care and conservation restorations that preserve the geometries, statues and historic vegetation.

Renaissance creation and landscape genius of the Veronese Giusti family

The Giusti Garden was created in 1580 by Agostino Giusti, a knight of the noble Veronese family, as a private garden annexed to the family palace. The project followed the principles of the art of Italian Renaissance gardens codified by sixteenth-century treatises: rigorous geometry, axial symmetry, scenic perspectives, fusion of nature and architecture, philosophical symbolism that represented the cosmic order and human dominion over wild nature. The garden was conceived as a green theatre where one could stroll, meditate, converse and admire the natural beauty ordered by the human intellect.

The classical statues depicted mythological deities (Apollo, Venus, Mars) representing human virtues and natural forces. The vegetal maze symbolised the tortuous path of life and knowledge that leads to final revelation. The artificial grottoes with stalactites and water features evoked the primordial darkness from which the light of reason emerges.

The Giusti garden quickly became famous throughout Europe as a perfect example of the formal Italian garden.

The vegetal maze is the most famous element of the garden: a labyrinth of pruned boxwood hedges that creates intricate paths among centuries-old cypresses over 20 metres tall. The maze occupies about 1500 square metres and takes 10-15 minutes to be fully explored following the visual clues. At the centre is a raised belvedere from which to admire the geometric design of the maze from above, revealing the mathematical perfection of the composition.

The upper terrace dug into the limestone hill houses artificial grottoes decorated with tufa, stalactites, shells and grotesque masks depicting river deities and mythological figures. The nymphaea are adorned with water features fed by natural springs that create cascades, fountains and scenic sprays. The panoramic balcony overlooking the city offers a spectacular view over Verona: one can see the Arena, the Scaliger towers, the Cathedral, the Adige winding through, the Valpolicella hills and on clear days the Lessini Pre-Alps. Goethe described this panorama as "one of the most beautiful views I have ever contemplated".

Next to the garden stands the Palazzo Giusti, the family's historic residence built in the 15th century and enlarged in the sixteenth. The palace preserves sixteenth-century frescoes from the school of Farinati, decorated wooden coffered ceilings, a gallery of family portraits documenting six centuries of Giusti history, and collections of sculptures, ceramics and period furniture that bear witness to the family's artistic patronage. The recently restored Lower Palace hosts temporary exhibitions of contemporary art and preserves the dining room frescoed with mythological scenes and ideal landscapes.

During special events and guided tours it is possible to access the historic rooms of the palace to admire the Renaissance interiors. The garden-palace complex represents a perfect example of an Italian noble residence where architecture, art and nature blend in a sublime harmony that celebrates the beauty and culture of the Veronese Renaissance.