A visit to the botanical garden Giardini della Mortella on Ischia is not to be missed. The magnificent park impresses with exotic plants and impressive landscapes and is, in my opinion, one of the highlights of Ischia. La Mortella (Place of the Myrtle) park, which was artistically laid out in the late 1950s and 1960s, is located around the former home of the English conductor and composer Sir William Turner Walton OM (1902 to 1983) in the San Francesco district of the municipality of Forio the Italian island of Ischia. The well-known English author, landscape architect and garden designer Montague Russell Page (1906 to 1985) designed the two-hectare, multi-level park with over 3,000 different plants and various streams, fountains, fountains and pools. The homeowner's wife, Susana Lady Walton MBE (1926 to 2010), also played a key role in the design of the lush green area.
After the composer's death in 1983, his urn was buried in a pyramid-like rock in the upper part of the garden, which Susana Walton continued to design in the following years with predominantly Mediterranean vegetation.
The garden has been open to the public since 1992. The Giardini della Mortella della Mortella is located in the district of Forio. However, it is far from the center, so you should go there by bus. The entrance is on a small side street.
After you have bought your ticket, the tour starts in the lower part of the garden - a tropical jungle landscape with beautiful fountains and numerous exotic plants. At the entrance you will also get a map that you can use to find your way around the park.
Don't miss the visit! Many visitors come to Ischia to lie on the beach for a week and many of them don't feel like planning any sightseeing.
It is an extraordinary sight that you would not expect to see on the island. I was very pleasantly surprised, even though I'm not at all a botany fan myself. It is really nice to stroll through the "jungle" and look at the beautiful and sometimes unusual plants from different regions of the world.