La Terrazza

LA TERRAZZA magazine

La Terrazza – A Garden in Venice

Inside the oldest garden in Venice: Inspiring recipes and seasonal stories from a secret sanctuary, located five minutes from Piazza San Marco.

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La Terrazza magazine

Discover Venetian garden culture and the fragrant recipes of La Serenissima.

The world in a venetian garden (248 species)

Local

Minutina
Salicornia
Rosolia
Violet potatoes
Kumquat tree

Exotic

Sicilian mint
Egyptian myrtles
Parsley from Positano
Armenian roses
Istrian malvasia

Shrubbery

Eucalyptus
Wisteria cinensis
Elderflowers
Rosemary
Lemon thyme

Orchard

Ribes bianco
Olive tree
Fig trees
Pomegranates
Syrian apple tree

in this garden e-magazine

You will discover..

Stories about the San Zaccaria monastery and its garden, inspiration and gardening tips, and historical recipes using ingredients from the garden (248 edible plants).

Step by step, you’ll discover the role the San Zaccaria monastery played in Venetian history and garden culture, which will show you the city from a different perspective.
You’ll discover the oldest garden in Venice, its story and purpose. And its recipes!
Colorful resources about Venetian garden culture, a garden atlas, gardening tips, a herbarium, and much more!

What I find so fascinating is that in many of these gardens, the botanical heritage of the Serenissima Republic of Venice still lives on: It was Venetian merchants, who in addition to spices, silk and other precious goods brought plant treasures to Europe. The government of the Republic of Venice ordered merchants to bring objects “to embellish our city”. These included plants, with the result that botanical treasures and rare plants were accumulated and lovingly tended in Venetian gardens. In the15th century, Venice was the city boasting the highest number of botanical gardens. You can make out these gardens, private, palace and convent gardens, in the famous map of Venice drawn by Jacobo de Barbari.

Iris Loredana

build your knowledge about mediterranean gardens

La Terrazza takes you into the hanging gardens of the San Zaccaria monastery: Discover little known stories, Mediterranean connections, spice mixes and delicious plant-based dishes from the recipe collections of the library.

learn about Venetian garden culture

For centuries, Venice was the greenest city in Europe, and gardens of all kinds still cover almost half of its surface. And for centuries, Venetians have developed the art of enlarging these tiny green patterns you can make out on your map, by creating sprawling terracescapes stretching across gardens, leading up the rooftops of one-story homes, and then up again to the second and third floors via wrought staircases.

Garden e-books

In addition to an online garden atlas of our city, you’ll receive Floral Venice, a free garden guide with a one-day-program of exploring and enjoying Venetian gardens.