The Papadopoli gardens are a small public park in the historic center of Venice. They are located in the Santa Croce district, near Piazzale Roma.
On the area now occupied by the gardens, the monastery of Santa Croce
once stood, the ancient religious complex that gave its name to the
entire district. Inhabited by a community of Poor Clare nuns, it was
closed in 1810 during the Napoleonic suppressions and reduced to civil
use. The complex was demolished a few years later along with other
buildings to make way for the park.
The project was conceived by
Francesco Bagnara in 1834-35 on commission from Teresa Mosconi, wife of
Count Spiridione Papadopoli who had become the owner of the land, taking
over from the Quadri family. For the construction, pre-existing gardens
and vegetable gardens were also merged, for a total of 12,000 m².
A follower of Giannantonio Selva and Giuseppe Jappelli, Bagnara
created an English park to the north, towards the Grand Canal, in line
with the romantic tendencies of the period, characterized by sinuous
avenues and hills. The remaining part, on the other hand, was more
regular with geometric flowerbeds. Remodeled and expanded in 1863 by the
French landscape architect Marc Guignon on behalf of the new owners
Niccolò and Angelo Papadopoli, the gardens aroused the admiration of
public opinion. Inside, numerous specimens of exotic plants had found a
place, but there was also an aviary with parrots and silver pheasants
and a circular terrace overlooking the Grand Canal.
Damaged by
bombing during the First World War, around 1920 they were opened to the
public. But in 1933 they were involved in the construction of Piazzale
Roma and underwent serious alterations: the western part was largely
flattened and separated from the rest by the excavation of the Rio Novo,
necessary for the disposal of the traffic of the new terminal. On the
same occasion, a large hotel complex was built on the south side.
The park currently occupies a fenced area of 7,500 m² in an insula
bounded to the north by the Grand Canal, to the east by the Rio dei
Tolentini, to the south by the Rio del Magazen and to the west by the
Rio Novo.
It is not very bright both due to the fairly dense tree
cover and the presence of evergreen species such as holm oaks, cypresses
and cedars. Other species present are hackberry, sophora, lime trees,
yews, maples and oaks. The undergrowth consists of specimens of laurel,
euonymous, aucuba, viburnum and spots of Ruscus hypoglossum.
The
winter garden of the Papadopoli hotel overlooks the southern part of the
park, built in 1970 to a design by Pietro Porcinai.
Beyond the
Rio Novo, adjacent to Piazzale Roma, two small unfenced strips of the
original gardens still exist, measuring respectively 655 and 710 m². The
first is essentially reduced to a flowerbed on which a few cypresses
stand; the other is more interesting due to the presence of a small
fountain set between "fake" rocks and perhaps what remains of a
nymphaeum or a cliff.