the garden
NO NEED FOR NONNA TO CREATE A PARADISE GARDEN WHEN SHE MOVED INTO HER NEW HOME IN JUNE 1968 .. IT WAS ALREADY THERE.. Discover her Giardino del Cuore, located in the ancient heart of Venice.
No need for Nonna to create a paradise garden when she moved into her new home in June 1968 .. it was already there.
Discover her Giardino del Cuore, located in the ancient heart of Venice.
La Terrazza - our garden magazine hosted on Substack, tells the story of the oldest garden in Venice, and the monastery of which it was part, once the largest and richest in the Lagoon. And yes, the garden is still as green as it looks in these images, with 248 edible plant species currently growing here: A sanctuary of the forgotten Lagoon flora, filled with salt-loving herbs like critmo marittimo and minutina, camelias, but also wisteria, roses, figs, hydrangea, and pomegranates.
discover the stories of the oldest garden in venice
what's inside
the garden
In Venice, you can make out seven garden styles, based on Byzantine and Persian hanging gardens. Discover them step by step as the magazine grows :-) Plus, what we found out about the former orto (garden) of San Zaccaria.
the monastery
While the paintings, crypta, and art of San Zaccaria are well known, we focus on the forgotten story of the San Zaccaria gardens, and forgotten recipes such as the unique almond calissoni.
the recipes
In Nonna's home, the library of the former monastery guesthouse is located. Our main source for testing the ancient Venetian recipes using flowers, herbs, and spices and other garden ingredients.
“Yucca blossoms, soft green figs, uva fragola grapes. Venetian gardens taste like paradise.
- nonna lina
the edible treasures of venice
Tasting a Venetian garden: delicious botanical cuisine
Baking with rose petals and rose syrup. Making grappa-and-lilac-flavored sweet breads, or rose-lilac sugar? Yes, this is possible and we will show you how it was done in Venice for more than 800 years. Not only will you discover a Venetian orchard and vegetable garden, hanging garden terraces, but also the forgotten historical recipes of Venice! Some of them date back to the 12th century.
garden guide
A special garden guide for you, presenting the gardens of Venice, and the San Zaccaria garden in context.
TOPICS IN 2025
We're adding new content every Tuesday, and often, during the week. Below, you can find some of the topics we're going to cover in late summer / autumn 2022.
la terrazza
Stories of La Terrazza, a hanging garden consisting of several sections, terraces, and altane (roof terraces).
herb sanctuary
Regrowing forgotten edible plants, experimenting with herbs and blossoms, making syrups and herbal drinks.
the citrus garden
Remembering the monastery's lemon tree nursery. Destroyed during the floods of 2019, but hopefully restored one day ..
the rose garden
The story of the roses of San Zaccaria - surprising and hardy plants that were there since times immemorial.
the monastery
The story of the richest and oldest monastery in the Lagoon of Venice, founded in the 5th century.
the recipes
Nonna's recipes, adapted from the ancient recipes we retrieved in the San Zaccaria library.
the library
Insights and glimpses, of the forgotten library of San Zaccaria, its recipes, the garden nursery, and more.
THE COMMUNITY
Get in touch with us and exchange with other readers in the community and comment sections!
flavors of the garden
Bonus: our E-Book on restoring the oldest garden in
Venice
Nonna's family moved into the guesthouse of the San Zaccaria monastery in April 1968, invited by the nuns had decided to leave. Within 10 years, she succeeded in restoring the ancient garden which had suffered badly from the 1966 floods.
“The monastery became a private home and small guesthouse
with a view ..”
.. and a small enchanted courtyard garden below the hanging terraces. Here, Lina created a Lagoon sanctuary for forgotten herbs from the salt marshes, using them as ingredients in her restaurant.
