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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.
Wednesday, September 30 at 6:00 PM, the final event of the Papyria project will take place at Giardini Ravino. Promoted by the D'Ambra family and curated by Dr. Mariangela Catuogno, the initiative has been dedicated to promoting and sharing publications by botanists, landscape architects, and creators of botanical gardens. Its aim is to offer cultural insights for everyone who loves nature, landscapes, and botanical gardens, inspiring visitors to explore positive approaches to the care, understanding, and enhancement of green spaces.
The special guest will be Professor Giuseppe Barbera, Full Professor of Arboriculture at the University of Palermo, who will present his book The Garden on the Lava. The Etna Landscape in Three Acts (Suq. Unconventional, 2025).
Published in a bilingual Italian-English edition, the book celebrates the extraordinary bond between nature, memory, and human ingenuity on the slopes of Mount Etna. Created in the 1950s, Parco Paternò del Toscano reflects the playful spirit and creative vision of its founder, landscape designer and nurseryman Ettore Paternò del Toscano. The park features a remarkable collection of exotic plants harmoniously integrated with native vegetation and the volcanic Etna landscape. Covering approximately three hectares, this lush rock garden is characterized by black lava-stone terraces shaped by ancient lava flows, with Mount Etna rising in the background above vineyards and citrus groves.
Papyria concludes its series of events with a book that explores a garden born in a volcanic landscape closely connected to Ischia's own botanical heritage, reaffirming its mission: a journey through the beauty of Italy's historic gardens and landscapes.
