Parco delle Terme di Levico | Grandi Giardini Italiani

History

The park around the Lévico Thermal Baths, the most important historic park in Trento Province, originated at the close of the 19th century with the rise of Lévico Terme to the rank of town and spa of European renown. The German landscape gardener Georg Ziehl (1873-1953) transformed a 13-hectare area of arable land into a large informal park, with open spaces for heliotherapy alternating with clusters and avenues of conifers: giant sequoias, douglas fi rs, exotic pines and evergreen magnolias, as well as beeches and limes. Restoration, following severe damage by the 2018 Vaia storm, has recently given the park a new lease of life. 250 new trees, a young birch grove, a collection of conifers and many deciduous trees with strikingly coloured foliage have been planted, respecting the original harmonious contrast of densely planted and grassed areas. 70,000 bulbs bring colour to the meadows in spring and fl owering herbaceous plants attract pollinators from summer to autumn, paying homage to an often forgotten culture that has historically distinguished Italy's great gardens. The Levico park is now run with particular attention to environmental quality and biodiversity. Since 2020 Villa Paradiso, the elegant building which was once the gardener's home, has housed the permanent exhibition ''Spazi cólti: i giardini nella storia d'Occidente'' (Cultivated spaces: Western gardens through history”), illustrating the development of parks and gardens with a selection of images, fi lms, documents and objects. Glimpses into historic gardens, transformed over time from private properties into public assets, emphasise the evolution of styles and of the true concept of the garden from an ideal to a real-life space.
A ''traditional'' exhibition itinerary is enriched by a 3D virtual tour with the use of visors, a selection of music and readings and multimedia resources with enhancing reality games.

Fare Paesaggio Award

Levico Spa Park received a special mention as part of the Fare Paesaggio Prize, a three-year Giulio Andreolli award, for the rebirth and recovery work carried out after Storm Vaia, which had felled more than 200 ancient trees in 2018.

The jury, composed of landscape experts, awarded a special mention to the park with the following motivation: “The Jury recognizes the exemplary character of an initiative that, starting from a situation made dramatic by a destructive event, was able to ensure the rebirth of a historic park experienced by the community as a common heritage with great social and landscape value. The collective mobilization created in the aftermath of the destruction caused by Vaia has given strength and resources to the recovery efforts and the implementation of a far-reaching cultural project.”

The prize, announced by the Landscape Observatory of the Autonomous Province of Trento in collaboration with Tsm-step School for the Government of the Territory and Landscape, promotes the development of initiatives aimed at the enhancement, protection and consistent transformation of the landscape in accordance with the principles of the European Landscape Convention and the guidelines of the Provincial Urban Plan.

Every three years, in the territory defined by the Alpine Convention, works, initiatives and projects are selected that are able to express objectives of high landscape quality and environmental sustainability, such as planning tools, management initiatives, landscape and landscape architecture interventions and cultural actions. The selection open to the European Alpine context is aimed at enhancing experiences that have distinguished themselves by the innovative features and lasting effectiveness of the proposed actions, technical scientific and aesthetic quality.
The Levico Spa Park is managed by the Employment Support and Environmental Enhancement Service of the Autonomous Province of Trento.

The Great Green. Eco-sustainable practices

The Levico Park is actively committed to promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. Over the years, it has implemented several actions:

Energy efficiency
Insulation of a barn, a work area; the work was completed in early 2022

Enhancement, implementation, and redevelopment of the plant heritage
In 2021, a major tree replanting project was completed in the area damaged by Hurricane VAIA; a total of approximately 260 new trees and
about a hundred shrubs. The project covered approximately 3 hectares of the park's total area of 13 hectares.

Eco-friendly greenery management

The park has been eco-friendly for 15 years. Absolute ban on herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides permitted in organic farming, organic fertilizers, no peat, mulching, or composting.
Use of electrical vehicles and equipment.
Planting of wildflower meadows with nectar-bearing species, bat boxes, and bird nests.
Care must be taken to avoid introducing new invasive species.

Water Saving
A approximately 100 m³ water tank has been added to recover unused water from a service aqueduct (overflow).

Environmental Education

Environmental education programs and workshops in the park and greenhouses for schools, visitors, and tourists. In 2020, the multimedia exhibition ''Collected Spaces'' on the theme of gardens was inaugurated in Villa Paradiso, the park's headquarters.
Completion of an artistic installation, ''Zefiro,'' that speaks to VAIA and climate change. A tulip exhibition to discuss plants and gardens; printing of the SPAZI COLTI exhibition catalog.

Grandi Giardini Italiani Srl

Grandi Giardini Italiani Srl