ROME, July 5 (Xinhua) -- A 19th-century park in the northwestern city of Genoa won this year's edition of "Italy's Most Beautiful Park" competition, organizers announced Wednesday.
The park surrounds the Villa Durazzo Pallavicini, which currently houses the Liguria Archeological Museum. It was created in 1840 by Michele Canzio, a set designer for the Genoa opera house.
It is considered one of the world's most original examples of the English romantic garden style, according to Italy's National Parks and Gardens Network, which sponsors the competition now in its 15th year.
Canzio laid out the park in "an itinerary composed of theatrical scenes, linked to one another by a narrative in a picturesque landscape meticulously composed of architectural and botanical elements," the jury wrote.
Visitors to this very special park "travel" through a play in three acts, told through neoclassical and neo-gothic temples, bridges, sculptures, grottoes, and even a Chinese pagoda on a lake. This is intertwined with rare and ancient botanical wonders, including a monumental camphor tree flanked by a Lebanese cedar, and a path lined with centuries-old camellias.
The Villa Durazzo Pallavicini park beat out more than 1,000 entries in this year's competition, and is open to the public from March to October.
