In 1956, landscape architect Russel Page was commissioned to create a garden for the English composer Sir William Walton and his wife, Lady Susana. The garden was designed to surround the couple's house on the beautiful island of Ischia and merge the picturesque rusticity of the natural vegetation with Modernist design. Today, La Mortella is known as one of the most important designed landscapes in southern Italy and a trove for exotic plants acclimatized to the island.
Around the same time, the duke Luigi Silvestro Camerini was designing his personal Eden, Negombo, just a stone's throw from Sir Walton. He gathered exotic species he had discovered during his numerous trips, and created a unique buen ritiro (beautiful retreat) for his family. After the death of the duke, his son continued the family tradition transforming this botanical garden into a luxurious thermal resort, spa and contemporary art space.
These two gardens represent the golden age of the island of Ischia, a time when actors, philosophers, musicians and style-makers chose this secluded island as a resort for their meditative holidays. As opposed to the flashier Capri, Ischia has always been considered the understated beauty of the gulf of Naples, very evident in the subtle elegance of the two gardens. La Mortella and Negombo show how a structure that can be attractive to intelligent travelers is also respectful of the environment and of the genius loci. Context's Ischia: Gardens and Water excursion is meant to give a deeper understanding and appreciation for the beauty of this special island and its stunning natural resources .
We limit the size of our itineraries to six people. We occasionally will allows groups of seven or eight people, for which we charge an additional 40 Euros per person. This will be calculated in your "shopping cart" as you request this walk.