Visiting Parco Giardino Sigurtà in Autumn offers international travellers a 60-hectare masterclass in landscape architecture, where golden foliage, the world-renowned Yew Labyrinth, and four centuries of Venetian patrician history intersect along the Mincio River.
Situated in Valeggio sul Mincio just south of Peschiera del Garda, the estate ranks among the most celebrated botanical and historic parks in Europe. Spanning 600,000 square metres across the rolling morainic hills, the garden undergoes a dramatic visual transformation during October and November, as summer greenery yields to vibrant amber, crimson, and golden hues across hundreds of rare botanical specimens.
Autumn Foliage and the 400-Year-Old Great Oak
The hallmark of an autumn visit is the spectacular foliage display created by extensive collections of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and ancient ginkgo biloba trees. Winding gravel promenades guide guests through sweeping pastoral lawns framed by eighteen aquatic mirror ponds, where late-blooming water lilies and reflections of the sky create painterly vistas.
Among the park’s botanical treasures stands the Great Oak (La Grande Quercia), an ancient downy oak (Quercus pubescens) with four centuries of recorded history. Boasting a trunk circumference exceeding six metres and a canopy spreading across 120 metres, the monumental tree is considered one of the oldest living specimens in northern Italy. Nearby flowerbeds showcase vibrant autumnal blooms of asters, canna lilies, and late roses along the celebrated Viale delle Rose, framing the silhouette of the medieval Scaliger Castle of Valeggio in the distance.
The Great Yew Labyrinth: Mathematical Precision and Turret Views
Inaugurated in 2011 after six years of design and cultivation by Count Giuseppe Inga Sigurtà in collaboration with internationally renowned maze architect Adrian Fisher, the Great Labyrinth (*Il Labirinto*) spans 2,500 square metres. Planted with over 1,500 English yew trees (Taxus baccata) exceeding two metres in height, the living puzzle challenges visitors along geometric geometric geometric corridors designed to test navigational intuition.
At the center of the maze rises a two-storey observation tower inspired by the turret in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. From the elevated viewing platform, visitors enjoy a 360-degree panorama over the maze corridors, the surrounding woodlands, and the expansive Great Lawn (Grande Tappeto Erboso), where natural turf is maintained through advanced ecological turf-management techniques.
Four Centuries of History: From the Maffei Estate to Carlo Sigurtà
The estate’s historical origin dates to 1407 as a walled agricultural holding owned by Gerolamo Nicolò Contarini. In 1617, the property passed to the noble Maffei family of Verona, who commissioned renowned architect Vincenzo Pellesina to design a magnificent baroque villa alongside an enclosed formal garden. The Maffei also erected the neo-Gothic Castelletto—a romantic pavilion that later hosted scientific conferences attended by Nobel laureates Gerhard Domagk and Alexander Fleming—and the Hermitage (*Eremo*) in 1792.
In 1941, pharmaceutical industrialist Carlo Sigurtà acquired the estate. Discovering an ancient legal charter granting water-drawing rights from the adjacent Mincio River, Sigurtà transformed the arid limestone hillside into a verdant oasis. On 19 March 1978, the garden opened its gates to the public for the first time.
Practical Visitor Information and Sustainable Mobility
Parco Giardino Sigurtà remains open daily from March through November between 09:00 and 19:00 (last entry at 18:00). Visitors can discover the estate through multiple sustainable transport options:
• On Foot: Over ten kilometres of well-graded paved and gravel walkways suitable for strollers and visitors with reduced mobility.
• Electric Golf Carts: Rented on-site, equipped with an intelligent GPS satellite audioguide providing historical commentary in English, German, and Italian.
• Panoramic Train: A 35-minute narrated circuit along the six-kilometre Enchanted Route (*Itinerario degli Incanti*).
• Bicycle Access: Guests may bring personal pedal bicycles or rent e-bikes on-site. The park directly borders the dedicated Mincio Cycle Track, allowing cyclists to ride seamlessly from Peschiera del Garda and the Scaliger Castle in Sirmione south to Borghetto sul Mincio and Mantua.
