Villa Taranto Gardens

In 1931, Scottish Captain, Neil McEacharn bought an estate called "La Crocetta" and from there the Villa Taranto Gardens were born. He named the villa "Taranto" in memory of his ancestor, Marshal McDonald, on whom Napoleon conferred the Dukedom of Taranto.

Neil McEacharn wished to create a British style garden that would remind him of Scotland and after a lot of work collecting specimens from all over the world, acclimatising them and arranging them in the grounds of the villa, Captain McEacharn has realised his dream.

Among the greatest achievements are the "Valletta" (containing azaleas, magnolias and rhododendrons), the irrigation plant fed by water from the lake, the Terraced Gardens with their beautiful waterfalls, the swimming pool, water lily and lotus pools and the Winter garden.

To ensure that his hard work continued after his death, Captain McEacharn generously donated the Villa Taranto gardens to the Italian State. So, when he died in 1964, the Ente Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto took over the management of the gardens. The Captain himself was buried in the garden's chapel/mausoleum.

The gardens were opened to the public in 1952 and remain open every year from April to October. There are currently around 1,000 plants that have never before been cultivated in Italy and almost 20,000 varieties of special botanical importance.

Opening Times Every day (including public holidays) 12/03/23 - 05/11/23
March: 09.00 - 17.00 (last entry, gates close 18.00)
April to September: 09.00 - 18.00 (last entry, gates close 19.00)
1st October to 15th October: 09.00 - 17.00 (last entry, gates close 18.00)
16th October to 5th November: 09.00 - 16.30 (last entry, gates close 17.30)
Price Adults €12 and children 6-14 years €6 (under 6's free)
Events In April you can see the 80,000 bulbs in bloom (most of them tulips!). From the end of July to late October the dahlia maze is in flower with over 1,700 flowers and 350 varieties, some of which have blooms reaching 25cm diameter.