Most Beautiful Park In Italy Winners Announced

words by Carol King The Parco Giardino Sigurtà in Valeggio sul Mincio, Verona, and the Villa Medicea di Castello Garden in Florence are the winners of the "Parco Più Bello d’Italia" (Most Beautiful Park in Italy) awards for 2013. The Parco Giardino Sigurtà won the prize for the best private park and the Garden of the Medici Villa di Castello for the best public park. The awards are in their 11th edition and the Comitato Scientifico (Scientific Committee) selected 10 finalists from the 1,000 parks listed on the Network Nazionale di Parchi e Giardini (National Network of Parks and Gardens) website. Entrants were judged on historical and botanical interest, state of conservation, accessibility, maintenance, quality of services, public relations and tourist promotion. The jury consisted of seven academic experts and professionals with expertise in the sector. The Parco Giardino Sigurtà is regarded as an ecological oasis for its botanical variety. It has 600,000 sq m (148 acres) of lawns, numerous ponds and, in March and April, some 1 million tulips are in bloom. The Villa Medicea di Castello garden is considered a model Italian garden and one of the best preserved gardens in Italy. It was inducted into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in the summer of 2013.