Il giardino dei Ciucio a Lavis - Guided excursion in Italian
Andrea Brugnara & Franco Castellan
Registration required [email protected]
On a steep rock face above Lavis, Tommaso Bortolotti - from the Bortolotti family, who ran an important spinning mill in the village - created a terraced garden between 1840 and 1860. The garden stretches along a steep slope on the Colle del Paion, in the Valle dei Mocheni on the River Avisio. Its significance goes far beyond the abundance of rare and exotic plants. The complex develops from the bottom upwards and follows a precise ideological programme in its spatial design. This has an initiatory character and serves the inner development of man as we know it from the rites of the Masonic lodge. Eclectic façade architecture - from antique inspiration to rococo elements - alternates with the terraces to form various stations of self-knowledge and serve garden-specific requirements. After the death of its founder Tommaso Bortolotti in 1872, the estate changed hands several times until it was acquired by the municipality of Lavis in 1999. The garden was particularly badly damaged during the First World War, as parts were repeatedly removed for war purposes. Extensive restoration and reconstruction work was carried out between 1999 and 2019. The garden has been open to the public again since 2019.
For more information see Studium Generale 2025.