Giardino dei Semplici de La Polse di Cougnes

Below the hill of Zuglio’s Pieve, the Garden of Simples at La Polse di Cougnes contains more than 1,200 plants, mostly native, arranged across four terraces. Its beds are organized around the parts of the human body traditionally associated with different plants and their uses.

Why it matters

The garden preserves knowledge of plants used in food, medicine and craft within a wider cultural centre devoted to spirituality, culture and botany. The garden and its collections connect the botanical traditions of Carnia with the landscape around the Pieve of San Pietro.

What to notice

The terraces group food and medicinal plants according to traditional associations with the human body. The adjacent botanist-artistic laboratory preserves two herbaria: an older collection and a more recent record of spontaneous plants from Friuli. La Polse also maintains hives among the flowers and produces mountain millefiori honey. A botanical library and the centre’s art and cultural activities broaden the site beyond the garden itself.

Context and history

The Fondazione La Polse di Cougnes took shape in the 1990s on land near the Pieve. Its development unfolded in stages, beginning with the recovery of a barn and continuing with the garden, laboratory and hermitage, followed by a library, ecumenical chapel and astronomical observatory. The botanical garden was laid out under the guidance of Professor Danelutto, with plants arranged according to traditional relationships between human anatomy and botanical uses. Volunteers have helped care for the garden as part of the foundation’s wider cultural work.