Historic Redentore Garden in Venice Opens to Public After Restoration

On October 25, 2024, the Compendio dell’Orto Giardino del Redentore in Venice opened to the public for the first time after a restoration project led by Venice Garden Foundation. The one-hectare complex, annexed to the Church of the Santissimo Redentore designed by Andrea Palladio in 1577 and entrusted to the Capuchins, was severely damaged by the November 2019 acqua granda flood. The restoration began in February 2023, with botanical work by architect and landscape designer Paolo Pejrone and structural work by architect Alessandra Raso. The garden features an olive grove, orchard, vegetable plots, aromatic herbs, flower borders, a nymphaea pond, and a pittosporum garden. It also includes exhibition spaces, a frantoio (olive press), a honey extraction room, and a café managed by illycaffé. Future programming curated by Venice Gardens Foundation includes artworks by Remo Salvadori (L'Alveare at the entrance and covers for two beehives), a video by Lucia Veronesi on the restoration, and photographs by Guido Guidi and Francesco Neri. Foundation president Adele Re Rebaudengo emphasized the collaborative effort among professionals, institutions, and patrons to restore this botanical and architectural heritage for Venice and the world.