Villa Garibaldi

Villa Garibaldi in Conversano is a nineteenth-century public garden laid out in 1883 on a rocky spur beside the historic centre.

Why it matters

The garden reflects the nineteenth-century creation of public green spaces in Apulian towns and the reshaping of Conversano's historic centre around the castle. Its position links civic landscaping with medieval urban fabric.

What to notice

An avenue of holm oaks leads to a formal parterre with a central octagonal flowerbed. Stone busts, a monumental fountain and a medieval tower adapted as a cistern form part of the garden's features.

Context and history

Architect Sante Simone designed the garden in 1883, using land freed by the removal of an old city gate and the filling of the castle moat. It was first known as Villa Belvedere because of its position on the Palo spur and later named Villa Garibaldi.