PLANTS IN GARDENS AND PARKS OF XVIII CENTURY IN PIEDMONT

The public historical gardens are generally thoroughly described, while private gardens are still to be discovered. In Piedmont (Northern Italy) this trend was highlighted by the presence of many virtually unknown private gardens. For this reason, a research was recently performed with the purpose of better understanding the style of the gardens with a particular emphasis on the botanical richness, the ideas of famous landscape architects, the history of the locations. During the XVIIIth century, mainly English and German plant hunters traveled through eastern countries and discovered exotic trees, shrubs and flowers. Consequently, these plants were collected and cultivated in private gardens located in Piedmont and today represent an important botanic source of germoplasm. This study shows that in these gardens monumental trees such as Cedrus, different cultivars of Fagus sylvatica, Quercus and Cycas etc.. are present. In particular, in the gardens close to Lake Maggiore different Camellia and Rhododendron species were planted during the XIX^th century. Moreover, to preserve plants from frost damage, greenhouses were built for recovering exotic potted plants in many parks of Piedmont. During the study it was also possible to note a correlation between the history of the provinces and the evolution of the parks and gardens themselves.