Two women entrepreneurs united in promoting green tourism
A new chapter begins in the history of Grandi Giardini Italiani, a cultural enterprise founded with private capital to promote and enhance the vast cultural heritage of botany, landscape, and art represented by Italy's most beautiful gardens.
Bianca Passera, entrepreneur in the hospitality sector and President of Gruppo LarioHotels, has acquired from Judith Wade the ownership of the most important brands in the green tourism industry: Grandi Giardini Italiani, Great Gardens of the World, and the other companies within the network.
It was in 1997 that Judith Wade founded Grandi Giardini Italiani, the first company to introduce the concept of excellence into the world of cultural tourism. As an entrepreneur, she recognized the sector's vast potential for growth and economic development and decided to invest in it. From the outset, several properties joined the project, and as the number grew, so too did the interest of both Italian and international audiences. Subsequently, a publishing house was founded, a photographic archive was established (the largest in Europe dedicated to gardens), a website was launched, and new companies were created.
Today, with the acquisition, Bianca Passera becomes the owner of Grandi Giardini Italiani, which boasts a network of 150 outstanding gardens, selected according to rigorous quality standards in terms of botany, art, and history, and characterized by a high level of tourist hospitality; Great Gardens of the World, a network of 200 gardens across 27 countries worldwide; Gardens of Switzerland; Como The Electric Lake and The Great Green.
In line with the mission and values that Judith has upheld over the years, Bianca will strengthen the synergies that come from belonging to a network of excellence and will continue to invest in effective marketing tools. She will also view internationalization as a key driver for further enhancing Italy's cultural and botanical heritage and will develop new projects focused on sustainability policies concerning the environment, people, and local communities.
In this new and ambitious venture, Bianca has invited Judith to remain by her side as Honorary President, recognizing that their shared entrepreneurial visions will make the future of Grandi Giardini Italiani and its associated brands even broader and more ambitious. The team remains confirmed, as does the headquarters at Villa Erba in Cernobbio.
«I will bring all my experience in hospitality to ensure that gardens and their poetry become an ever stronger model of a growing and sustainable economy.
I firmly believe in a way of doing business that generates value for the territory, for people, and for the environment - principles we have also integrated into LarioHotels through our ESG journey and its transformation into a Benefit Corporation.
I am grateful to Judith for offering me, through Grandi Giardini Italiani, the opportunity to combine responsible entrepreneurship with one of my greatest passions: my love for greenery», says Bianca Passera.
«I have long reflected on the future of Grandi Giardini Italiani, and I am certain that I have made the right choice in entrusting its leadership to Bianca, who is capable of guiding it toward new and important achievements», concludes Judith Wade.