The stunning formal gardens of a Baroque pleasure palace once owned by Napoleon have been voted the Most Beautiful Park in Italy, the competition committee said Wednesday.
Villa Pisani in the small Veneto town of Stra beat off stiff competition from nine other finalists for the title including Lazio's famous Ninfa Gardens and the royal park of Campania's Reggia di Caserta - a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the largest gardens in Europe, originally designed for the Bourbon kings of Naples.
Built by the Pisani family in the 18th century on the banks of the river Brenta near Venice, Villa Pisani was bought by Napoleon in 1807 and then passed into Italy's royal Savoy family before becoming state property.
The recently restored gardens include vast expanses of beautifully kept lawns, formal paths and walkways, follies, sculptures, an English wilderness garden, a summer house on a moated island, a walled citrus garden, an ice house, a Versailles-like long water channel linking the palace to the stables, and a hedged maze.
The grounds are open to the public, although picnicking is forbidden.
The villa itself, said to be the venue of the first meeting between Hitler and Mussolini, contains a central ballroom with extravagant frescoes by Italian artist Giambattista Tiepolo.
Villa Pisani was chosen for this year's prize by a panel of botanists, archietects, historians and journalists.
The Most Beautiful Garden awards began in the United States in the 1990s but then spread to Europe by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden and Italy.
Villa Pisani will now compete alongside other national winners for the title of Most Beautiful Park in Europe 2008.
