Think of Venice and you’d surely conjure up images of gorgeous Baroque buildings, tiny canals, and wobbly gondolas. But the city built on water has a surprisingly rich botanical heritage that most tourists overlook. In the heart of the Venetian Lagoon, on the island of Giudecca, lies a green sanctuary that has provided material and spiritual healing to Venetians for centuries.
For nearly 500 years, the Hortus Redemptoris, the garden of the Capuchin Friars at the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, has been home to more than 3,000 plant species from cherry trees to rosemary and mulberries. This green oasis has been recently restored and reopened to the public, offering visitors a chance to experience a part of Venice that is inextricably linked to the Capuchin order.
Capuchin friars arrived at Giudecca island in 1535 and established the gardens, then called “simple gardens” (Hortus Simplicium) as part of their monastic pharmacy. In the following decades, the “Capuchin pharmacy” was vital to provide Venetians, especially the most vulnerable ones, with remedies against ailments. In 1567 the plague broke out, and the Giudecca turned into a makeshift hospital where the ill were taken to benefit from the medical care provided by the friars.
At the end of the pandemic, Venetians famously built the Church of the Redeemer, designed in neo-classical style by Andrea Palladio, as a sign of thanksgiving, and the gardens were annexed into the Redeemer complex. Venetians chose the island of Giudecca because that’s where the bulk of their much-needed medical care took place.
For years, this verdant corner of the lagoon was off the radar for most visitors. But following a recent restoration, the Gardens of the Redeemer were recently opened to the public offering a chance to experience one of Venice’s best kept secrets. The restoration project, led by the Venice Gardens Foundation and landscape architect Paolo Pejrone, was guided by a profound respect for the garden’s role as a place of both material and spiritual healing. The garden's design follows the classic Franciscan "cross" layout with orthogonal paths dividing the space into rational plots for work and prayer. Visiting the gardens, you won’t just find an aesthetically pleasing landscape but also an active orchard, with Capuchin friars often found picking olives or pruning cherry trees.
Spring is the best time to appreciate this newly opened corner of The Most Serene City, as Venice has historically been called, with purple wisteria blooms wrapping a massive 400-meter chestnut pergola, white and pink blossoms of almond, cherry, plum, and apricot trees and blue and purple flowers of sage and rosemary.
At the center of the garden, a pool of water filled with lotus flowers and water lilies serves as a reminder of Venice's historical link to Asia. At the end of your visit, you can enjoy stunning views of the Venetian lagoon from a small cafè serving organic produce from the gardens.
Venice’s Redeemer Gardens, on the island of Giudecca, can be visited on Thursday, Friday, Saturday between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. You can easily reach Giudecca from Venice via Vaporetto (public ferry). Take Line 2, 4.1, or 4.2 from major stops like Piazzale Roma, Ferrovia (the train station), or Zattere.
