Antico Orto dei Padri Somaschi

The Somaschi fathers cultivated food in the shadow of Cherasco's sanctuary dome. The former plot has been recreated as a hortus conclusus of edible and ornamental flowers in a project developed with the University of Turin's agricultural scientists.

Why it matters

The Antico Orto dei Padri Somaschi is a rare case of a monastic garden recreated as a living botanical project rather than a museum set piece. The official portal tells the story directly: under the dome of the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Popolo — the third largest in Piedmont — the Somaschi fathers tended an orchard-garden for centuries, and the space has now been reborn on the model of the ancient hortus conclusus. Its curation by the Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari of the Università di Torino gives it scientific credibility: this is a planted collection of dozens of species, focused on edible and ornamental flowers, not merely a prettified lawn.

What to notice

The hortus conclusus, or enclosed garden of monastic tradition, is expressed as a contemplative space with beds of decorative and edible flowers. The planting interprets species associated with food and medicinal use. The garden occupies a green space in the historic centre, with the dome of the Madonna del Popolo rising above its walls.

Context and history

Religious orders fed themselves from urban plots like this one, and the Somaschi — founded in the sixteenth century to care for the poor and sick — kept theirs productive for generations beside their Cherasco house. The garden's recovery restored a fragment of the historic centre's green fabric, with the University of Turin's agricultural and food sciences department as curator. Its stated planting theme, edible and ornamental flowers, connects the medieval monastery garden tradition with contemporary interest in useful botany.