With stunning photos and enchanting stories, Donna Fenice will take you on tour of northern Italy’s most fascinating gardens. You will visit Italy’s Lake District, a region that has captivated artists, writers and movie directors for centuries, as well as the lush vineyards of Veneto. Whether driven by historical context, bitter rivalries, powerful ambitions, homesickness, or changing fads in garden design, these gardens reveal a fantastical range of styles. From a baroque extravaganza on Lake Maggiore, to a romantic English garden on Lake Como, to a formal Renaissance garden in Verona, to the Versailles-inspired garden of a Venetian Doge (chief magistrate of Venice or Genoa in the medieval and renaissance periods), these gardens are as rich and varied as Italy itself. Buon viaggio!

Italian drinks and food will be available for purchase.

About Donna Fenice

During her third year as a U of T undergrad student, Donna spent a semester in France. Afterwards she ventured to Italy, where she stayed for several years – exploring Tuscany and beyond from her home in Florence. Upon returning to Toronto, she taught Italian at York University for a few years.