Giardini Botanici di Villa Taranto

Verbania, Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy, Italy

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The Giardini Botanici di Villa Taranto are botanical gardens located on the western shore of Lake Maggiore in Pallanza, a frazione of Verbania, Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Lombardy, Italy, covering 16 hectares (160,000 square meters or about 40 acres).

Founded in 1931 by Scottish captain Neil McEacharn, inspired by his travels to China, Japan, Australia, and South America where he collected rare plant species, the gardens opened to the public in 1952 and after McEacharn's death in 1964 have been run by a non-profit organization called Ente Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto.

The gardens contain nearly 20,000 plant varieties representing more than 3,000 species from around the world, set among 7 kilometers of paths and avenues, making them one of the most important botanical gardens in the world with thousands of plant and flower species from every location harmoniously distributed across the 16-hectare area.

\The estate features formal gardens with symmetrical flower beds, ponds, pathways, and a central water channel, along with a circular stone fountain with statues spraying water jets, all surrounded by lush greenery and framed by the white Villa Taranto building with mountains in the background.