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When I visit a new city, one of the first things I like to do is go to the Tourist Information Office. Usually the people at the desk speak enough English to hold a decent conversation and many of them are enthusiastic about their city. I like to ask what their favourite place to visit and if there is anything that is “not to miss” – I try to find out the information that is not in the guidebooks. The Bologna Welcome Office is in Piazza Maggiore right in the middle of the action. The lovely young women we spoke to recommended Diverdeinverde, a three day garden tour that was starting on the Friday. We were leaving on Saturday so we could participate on the first day. Basically you get to look into private gardens around the city; this was their fourth year.

We had spend a wonderful week in Bologna exploring the sites of the city and we were excited to take a peek behind the scenes. If we had not loved Bologna enough, the garden tour placed it firmly in the lead of our most loved Northern Italian cities. With our map in hand, it was like a treasure hunt, finding these calm green oasis behind plain buildings and busy streets. We managed to visit over a dozen gardens some very formal and well manicured and some wild and rustic. I took a lot of pictures; the gallery below is a sample of my favourites… enjoy.

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A lovely statue in an amazing garden

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