Papyria: The Garden on Lava: The Etna Landscape in Three Acts

Papyria is the new cultural project promoted by the Giardini Ravino and curated by Dr. Mariangela Catuogno. The project aims to promote awareness and appreciation of botanical heritage, exploring the daily challenges involved in protecting national and international landscapes and offering ideas for reflection on ways to enhance and improve access to botanical gardens through publications by botanists, landscape architects, and creators of botanical gardens.

The aim of Papyria is to provide cultural insights for those who love Nature, landscapes, and botanical gardens and who, fascinated by the wonders of this immense heritage, wish to discover positive strategies for the care, protection, and enhancement of green spaces.

In this way, the project creates a fruitful connection between authors and readers and visitors. In addition to learning about the historical, cultural, and management aspects of international botanical heritage, participants are encouraged to reflect on today’s sustainability challenges and on how to preserve the beauty of our landscapes.

The Papyria project takes its name from Cyperus papyrus, the plant that revolutionized writing and the dissemination of texts in the ancient world. It is a clear reference to that extraordinary medium of knowledge-sharing, which today becomes the symbol of a project based on a clear and effective scientific approach to communicating topics related to Nature and the relationship between Nature and humankind.

Through four events held on Wednesdays in September at Giardini Ravino, at 7:30 p.m., the programme will explore topics including the conception and creation of La Mortella Gardens by its founder, Lady Susana Walton; how to address the challenges posed by climate change in order to safeguard the world’s botanical heritage; the beauty and productivity of botanical gardens; and the extraordinary heritage of gardens located in volcanic areas and their contribution to shaping the landscape.

Papyria Programme

Wednesday, 30 September – 7:00 p.m.
The Garden on Lava: The Etna Landscape in Three Acts
Prof. Giuseppe Barbera, Full Professor of Arboricultural Crops, University of Palermo