Officially known as the Convent Garden of the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, it is one of the Giudecca’s hidden treasures: a hectare of greenery with more than 2,500 plants, including cypresses, olive trees and old fruit trees, together with vegetable plots, a water-lily pond, aromatic plants and a 400-metre pergola covered with vines, climbing roses, wisteria and trumpet vines.

Set within the convent complex of the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer — designed by the great Venetian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio at the request of the Serenissima and entrusted to the Capuchin Friars Minor — the garden was reserved for the exclusive use of the convent for five centuries.

Now, for the first time in its history, it is open to the public all year round, from Thursday to Saturday, following a major restoration project promoted and carried out by Venice Gardens Foundation, the organisation also responsible for restoring the Royal Gardens of Venice.

This hidden green corner was also damaged by the acqua granda of November 2019, the exceptional tide that reached 187 centimetres and flooded and devastated Venice. Today, after a botanical restoration based on a design by Paolo Pejrone, the internationally renowned gardener and landscape architect, it has recovered its full beauty. The Old Workshops and Greenhouse have also been restored, with careful respect for the spirit of the place.

Sustainability is at the heart of the garden. It has been designed to welcome birds and bees, to grow and produce vegetables, fruit, honey and oil, to generate renewable energy and to recycle organic waste.

The convent garden itself, reached through the first courtyard of the complex, is laid out along a series of orthogonal paths that divide the different cultivated areas. Fragrant flower borders planted with Mediterranean species such as lavender, sage and helichrysum line the paths, where violets and strawberries can also be found. Vegetables alternate with aromatic herbs, including sage and rosemary, and medicinal plants such as mallow, camomile, verbena and valerian.

At the centre is a water basin animated by lotus flowers and water lilies, while along the south-facing wall grow the flowers traditionally used to decorate the church altars, including roses, lilies, zinnias and dahlias. New trees have also been planted to enrich the orchard and the large existing olive grove, and to create pleasant shaded resting places along the paths: sour cherry, persimmon, fig, almond and pomegranate trees.

To the south, the garden is bordered by the old service buildings that once supported the daily life of the convent: the carpenter’s workshop, the general workshop, the wool workshop where the friars’ habits were made, and the spaces used to prepare the liqueur known as mistrà. Today, these buildings have become new exhibition spaces and also house the olive press and the honey extraction room.

Nearby are the Chapel of Meditation, a place of silence and peace, and the lagoon-facing café run by illycaffè, where dishes are prepared using produce from the garden.

As sunset approaches, there is one place not to miss: a small, secluded and shady garden on the edge of the Lagoon, sheltered by the evergreen foliage of pittosporums and olive trees. Here, the view opens out across the water.

Tickets

Full price: €12
Reduced: €6 for residents, children aged 6 to 12, and FAI members.

Free admission: members of the clergy, ICOM members, children up to the age of 5, people with disabilities and one accompanying person, and licensed tourist guides in Italy accompanying groups or individual visitors.

Annual resident pass: €30

For further information: www.venicegardensfoundation.org/en/redeemer

The Redeemer Convent Garden