Giardini della Villa Comunale

A large glass of good red wine, some excellent bruschetta, and a light lunch on a warm and sunny afternoon. 

A gentle stroll downhill along the Via Bagnoli Croci, and we turn along Via Roma, where the Mediterranean in all it's blue splendour opens up to our left.

The entrance to the public gardens is unassuming, and gives nothing away about what lies inside.

Built on the top of a cliff, it's an area of peace and tranquility, with trees providing some shade from the heat of the day.

The garden is the creation of a Lady Florence Trevelyan, a Scottish noblewoman who, having had an illicit romance with Edward VII, found herself living here. She arrived in 1884, married the mayor, and set about creating these wonderful gardens.

I feel that she was a romantic at heart, as everything within this green space is exquisite. The intricate buildings, one used by her to bird watch, are testament to a feminine mind that had too many exciting ideas to express in the time it took to create them.

In 1922, she left them to the town, where they had to remain a place that was free to enter for anyone who cared to share in them.

We spent a long time here, holding hands and strolling, talking about these gardens and our gardens back home, with new vistas and points of interest around every corner.

Birdsong from the aviary, and the sound of running water from fountains add to the calming effect.

I think that Florence would have enjoyed what has become of it.

We are back at work now, but will hold this place dear to us.