Dismay at sale of Jewel of Verona

[emad]

Barbara McMahon in Rome
Monday April 11, 2005
The Guardian

A 16th century Renaissance garden and palazzo, described as the "Jewel of Verona", has been put up for sale after years of squabbling among the aristocratic family who own it.

The Giardino Giusti, which is on the market for €15m (£10.3m), could now become a luxury hotel or a casino - a prospect that has dismayed many of its admirers.

It attracts tourists from all over the world. Its many illustrious visitors of the past include Mozart, Cosimo de' Medici and Goethe, who wrote about its magnificent cypress avenue during his travels in Italy in 1786. The avenue leads up to a stalactite grotto, above which is a gargoyle which appears to be emitting flames from its mouth. From there, visitors climb up to a belvedere offering a panoramic view of Verona.

The English writer Sir George Sitwell proclaimed it one of the three best gardens in Italy.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,12576,1456601,00.html