Giardini Reali
A bit of History

Once again it was Napoleon who set events in motion — this time not a war, but the creation of a palace and its gardens.

In January 1807 he decreed that his Venetian palace should be established in the Procuratie Nuove (today the Archaeological Museum). The Procuratie — Venice’s medieval administrative buildings — flank St Mark’s Square, with the newer wing begun by Vincenzo Scamozzi (1581–99) and completed by Baldassare Longhena around 1640. After Napoleon’s conquest, these rooms became his residence.

He ordered further extensions, including the “Ala Napoleonica”, and insisted that the view of the Bacino San Marco remain unobstructed. A garden was to be created, which required the demolition of the granary and various shops previously on the site.

The garden was enclosed by a stone balustrade, and in 1816 a handsome iron gate was added facing the Piazzetta San Marco. Architect Lorenzo Santi also designed the layout we still recognise today: geometric paths and parterres in the Italian style, combined with two small English-style groves. Citrus trees, flowering plants and ornamental shrubs were planted from the outset.
Although mid-19th-century tastes later softened the geometry with curving paths, the original formal layout was restored in 1939–40.

In 1857 Emperor Franz Joseph from Austria returned the passage to the ferry landing to the city — an attempt to regain public favour after the turmoil of the 1848–49 revolution. Empress Sisi, however, revoked this decision in 1861 for reasons now unclear. With the arrival of the House of Savoy in 1866, the passage was once again opened to the public, and remains so today.

Since 2014, the Venice Gardens Foundation has overseen the restoration and maintenance of the gardens.

A small note: the Foundation states that photos may not be published without prior permission — hence the limited selection here (and this should stay between us 😉).