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Tenuta Pietraperciata, via Fondaco D'accorso sn, 98039 | Trappitello di Taormina (ME)

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Info & Contacts

Info & Contacts

Tenuta Pietraperciata, 

Via Fondaco D'accorso sn, 98039 
Trappitello di Taormina (ME)

+32 498 958386 | +39 329 8343562

info@giardinivictoria.it

Tenuta Pietraperciata, 

Via Fondaco D'accorso sn, 98039 
Trappitello di Taormina (ME)

+32 498 958386 | +39 329 8343562

info@giardinivictoria.it

The Garden, or rather the Victoria Gardens, is an ornamental park immersed in the historic Pietraperciata agricultural estate in Taormina. The works to make the Gardens accessible to the public began in 2021 to allow for the first visits in March 2023.

The Vicoria Gardens are open only by appointment and reservation from Wednesday to Sunday.

The Garden, or rather the Victoria Gardens, is an ornamental park immersed in the historic Pietraperciata agricultural estate in Taormina. The works to make the Gardens accessible to the public began in 2021 to allow for the first visits in March 2023.

The Vicoria Gardens are open only by appointment and reservation from Wednesday to Sunday.

WHO WE ARE

Victoria Gardens


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The Garden, or rather the Victoria Gardens are an ornamental park nestled in the historic Pietraperciata agricultural estate in Taormina. Since 2024 the Garden is a member of the Grandi Giardini Italiani the prestigious Italian association of Gardens of excellence (www.grandigiardini.it). The visitors from wherever they come will be able to admire collections of colourful and fragrant flowers, discover rare and less rare trees such as bergamots, chinotti, lemons of all type, carob, fig and prickly pear trees and so on. They will also enjoy the pathways up the hill past Mediterranean maquis and into olive groves, seeing ponds and perhaps spotting rare birds and insects.

Do you want to receive more information about our services? Request more information.

Do you want to receive more information about our services? Request more information.

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The second is the re-planting in the surprising section called “Pomario ” of varieties of nuts and fruits such as almond, peach, and other top fruits together with olive trees, vines, carob and citrus fruits to recompose the traditional agriculture which characterised the landscape of these hills until half a century ago; finally the third element is the re-connection with the Taormina landscape shaped by distinguished  émigres in the 19th century. Among these Florence Trevelyan particularly loved and succeeded in softening the rugged landscape of Taormina with collections of trees, ornamental plants and flowers from near and far such as pines, cypresses, roses, peonies, lilacs, wisteria, and much more. Visitors will appreciate that in the Victoria Gardens water is vital and is carefully used. Snowmelt water from the Etna volcano reaches the Gardens via the Alcantara river and small ancient canals, to irrigate crops in the summer months. Rainwater is also recovered by collection systems; and groundwater which filters through the rocks typical of the Peloritani mountains, flows from a secret cavity dug into the rock on the estate to feed water features for birds, insects, amphibians and butterflies.

The Gardens, covering an area of 6 hectares in the hills, are unique in Taormina because there is no other park in the whole territory that opens its doors to the public to allow you to admire a rich collection of ornamental plants and flowers and at the same time see traditional agriculture still at work.

The plan of the Garden was designed in collaboration with Francesco Borgese's SciaraNiura studio, an attentive protagonist for over 25 years in the protection of Sicilian historic gardens and in this way protecting the landscape as well. The Victoria Gardens offer extraordinary walks along terraces and up to vantage points with entrancing views. The gardens invite you to discover and let yourself be carried away by three interconnected themes always in harmony with Nature and the history of the territory. The first is the recovery of the original biodiversity of the territory in cooperation with the Catania Botanical Garden: a scientific programme is underway for the recovery and replanting of local species of Mediterranean maquis.

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Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca

President and founder of the Victoria Gardens in Taormina

Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca was born in Palermo where she graduated in Agricultural Sciences; with a Fulbright scholarship she continued her studies at one of the fifty best universities in the world, the University of California at Davis, where she obtained a Master of Science in 1981. In California she spent two years that shaped her future career: she clearly perceived the importance of strengthening her innate qualities of creativity, curiosity and courage, which combined with commitment and solid scientific foundations still accompany her today in all her activities.

In Photo: Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca

Upon her return to Italy in 1983, she was faced with important choices to make. To pursue a university career devoted to teaching and scientific research  or to start an entrepreneurial activity based on the Pietraperciata citrus company owned by her family (she has long favoured the idea of launching a plant nursery), or alternatively to join an international organization at the service of high ideals? She chose the latter path and in 1985 she joined the European Commission first to help design one of the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), then to design and implement assistance programmes for Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) after the fall of the Berlin Wall in December 1989 and accompany the historic changes that followed. In the second half of the nineties she accompanied the CEECs in the gigantic process of legislative and system reforms necessary for their gradual entry into the Single Market of the European Union, one of the first steps for the enlargement of the EU. The Internal Market, the public procurement policy, and then the Cohesion Policy are some of the main policies that she helped to design and implement. She was appointed director in 2008 and since then she has directed teams of professionals from all Member States of the European Union (EU) to accompany them in achieving the ambitious objectives of the economic, social and territorial cohesion policies. Shel left the European Commission in 2021 precisely because she wanted to devlop these ornamental botanical gardens, together with her English husband, William Floyd: the Victoria Gardens. “This entrepreneurial idea means for me to put together, as in a puzzle, the most significant experiences of my life so far, and to concretely contribute to the sustainable recovery of the Sicilian territory from which I come' - she says. ’With this project of mine I intend to dedicate myself also to the objectives of the European Union : fight against the loss of biodiversity, commitment to safeguarding the territory and landscape, contribution to job creation and sustainable diversification of economic activities in disadvantaged rural areas. “Sustainability ” for me is not a slogan, but it means promoting a development that places the dignity of the human person and respect for Nature at the centre. I believe that the contribution of individuals, if carried out with sustained commitment, can go a long way. I offer what I have acquired over the years: managerial skills, in-depth knowledge of relevant EU policies and the functioning of its institutions,  and extensive networks around the World ”

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Activities are in full swing in the Victoria Gardens and we have opened to the public in 2023. Stay up to date on all the news and activities in the Victoria Gardens.

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