Historic Garden of San Francesco

In Ripacandida, in the Land of Lucania, there is a small and very famous garden in the area, a place full of botanical surprises but also of suggestive atmospheres.

A garden of conventual origin whose history is linked to that of the adjacent seventeenth-century Franciscan monastery

In an intimate relationship with the cycle of fifteenth-century frescoes, of the adjacent medieval church of San Donato. As you enter, you find yourself in the presence of one of the centuries-old pines that shades one of the three stone pavilions

Transformed over time from an ancient vegetable garden into a silent place of meditation with ornamental plants and stone artefacts

The artistic fountain, built in the early 1900s, was renovated and embellished in 2010

Statue of San Francesco, from which the name of the Garden.

The double avenue of holm oaks and ash trees, of horse chestnuts and magnolias relaxes the look in a relaxing perspective ...

... that from the belvedere it extends over the gentle and undulating landscape of this earth kissed by the wind and the sun

Walking along the outer avenue ...

... between fountains and box hedges, you arrive in front of a majestic Pine of Aleppo ...

... the oldest witness of the place. Perhaps the largest specimen of this species in Europe

There he is! In all its majesty!
Its circumference measures over 5 meters ...

In height, it exceeds 35 meters.
A seed, or a small plant brought from afar by a friar, a grateful pilgrim, someone who centuries ago wanted to leave a memory, a symbol, a message of eternity. Struck by lightning and storms over the centuries, with the aim of prolonging its life and stability, in 2019 it has been the subject of a safety intervention, unique in the whole region

From the Garden, the view can run far over the rolling hills of the Lucanian Apennines.

Behind the church of San Donato, on a slightly raised floor you can admire the ancient garden, which is accessed by two short staircases accompanied by small classical statues that in the last century adorned an ancient noble villa of Ripacandida

Trees dominate an environment that evokes religiosity, which encourages silence, reflection, meditation ...

... not failing to give new perspectives ...

... and corners to take refuge in the shade, caressed by the sparkling air that characterizes the area

The wood hedges draw a sort of labyrinth, in which, however, it is impossible to get lost

The edge game is not designed to imprison the visitor, but to lead him and help him to walk serenely with curiosity and fun the whole green composition

Going down a few steps, a gentleman dressed as a wanderer "plays" the flute. Sitting on the benches in front of him, the mind wanders free accompanied by those notes that, climbing upwards, bouncing between the walls of the convent and the hills facing each other, they get inside you

The longitudinality of the innermost avenue wisely combines with the verticality of the trees ...

... whose crowns shaped over time by passionate gardeners create shadows and light-dark. Going through it to the end…..

... you are returned to the gate and then to the entrance. The mind is restored, and in the background the soul and eyes can find further refreshment and refuge in the splendid Sanctuary of San Donato, where you can immerse yourself in the fifteenth-century representations of the old and new Testament

The Sanctuary of San Donato was born in 1600 with the Franciscan friars. Since 1889 it has been run by the Franciscan nuns of the Child Jesus. In the representation, placed on the external wall of the convent, there is the figure of the founding Mother with the cross, the coat of arms and the motto” Caritas-Claritas” and the representations of the first fraternities of the institute: Guardiagrele (CH), S. Maria degli Angeli (Assisi), Trevi (PG), Ripacandida