Probably the most *ALIVE* place on Earth ! Parco Sigurta probabilmente è il luogo più simile a Pandora (Avatar)

Have you ever wonder how HEAVEN looks like? Well I did ... I have been in some places on Earth, but this one is the embodiment of the true PERFECTION!

The ones who know me already, know well (sorry for the double word) that I do not post about travel or places for vacations, but believe me, I truly do not care if you will vote this post or not, I wish to share with you not a beautiful place but the most perfect and alive place on EARTH!

So here it comes ...

This place is called Parco Giardino Sigurtà, you can find here more informations about it posted on our dear friend Wikipedia site.

The Sigurtà park-garden is a 60-hectare natural park located in Valeggio sul Mincio, in the province of Verona, 8 km from Peschiera del Garda. Winner of the second prize of the most beautiful park in Europe in 2015 and the most beautiful park in Italy in 2013.

The Sigurtà park-garden hosts innumerable naturalistic and historical attractions: in the months of March and April one million tulips can be admired, representing the most important flowering in Italy and the richest in Southern Europe; the avenue of roses, which from May to September welcomes 30,000 reappearing roses; an extraordinary labyrinth, eighteen stretches of water, where aquatic plants and immense green fields flourish between June and July.

Not to mention the Castelletto, commissioned by the Marquis Antonio Maffei, and in the past ancient arms hall, today instead a place where the historical, literary and scientific memories of the Sigurtà family are kept: here scientists and Nobel prizes are remembered, guests in the past of the park: Selman A. Waksman (Nobel Prize in 1952 and discoverer of Streptomycin), Alexander Fleming (Nobel Prize in 1945 and discoverer of penicillin), Gerhard Domagk (Nobel prize in 1939 and discoverer of the sulfonamides), Konrad Lorenz (Nobel Prize in 1973 and founder of ethology) and Albert B. Sabin (discoverer of the oral polio vaccine).

Other enchants full of history and charm are the Hermitage (a small temple in neo-Gothic style), the Horizontal Sundial (which stands on the lookout of Romeo and Juliet), the Great Oak (the oldest tree in the park with its 4 centuries of age, the bronze monument dedicated to Carlo Sigurtà, the Stone of youth, the cemetery of dogs, etc.

The park has been chosen among the locations that represent Italy during Expo 2015 within the Panorama Project in Piazza Gae Aulenti (Milan).

Labyrinth - The maze

The park's labyrinth was inaugurated in July 2011.

It is a geometric composition that houses 1,500 examples of Tasso plants over two meters high and covers an area of ​​2500 square meters.

The labyrinth was designed by Count Giuseppe Inga Sigurtà with the collaboration of Adrian Fisher, well-known maze designer, during the course of six years: two years of design and four for the growth of plants purchased specifically in the Netherlands.

At the center of the labyrinth stands a tower, inspired by that of the French Bois de Boulogne.

The building is equipped with a copper-clad dome and two staircases that allow visitors to enjoy the view of the whole geometry (from a privileged point of view) and then allow the descent into the labyrinth.

The project of the labyrinth is however incomplete, the current version is in fact an intermediate step that awaits its completion. In the future, an underground tunnel will be opened, which will be connected to the central tower inside which the fossil museum built by Prof. Enzo Inga Sigurtà will be built.

Educational Sector

In 2004 the park started working on an educational project: educational itineraries involving age groups between 4 and 18 years.

Routes that range from nature to the history of the Veneto region, from the orientation within the park to the levers of marketing.

Over the years there have also developed important collaborations such as the one with the Museo Nicolis, with the Brescia Museums Foundation, with Navi Andes, with the Civic Museums of Verona and Slow Food Veneto.

Many of the educational activities run by the park staff take place inside the ancient farm reopened to the public in 2009.

This farm has allowed the Sigurtà garden to forge a partnership with Veneto Agricoltura joining the project for the Conservation and Enhancement of local venetian breeds.

For this reason, within this area live several species of hens (Padovane, Ermellinate and Lionate), the Germanate Ducks, the Tacchini Bronzati, the Donkeys of S. Domenico and the Pecore Brogna and this allows to create routes on the recognition and the distinction of the different species by the pupils of the schools.

And these are some pictures from around the park ...

**The Location on the GPS: **

And the mascot of the park is :

Maybe you will wonder if I did saw a squirrel and yes I did, but damn, they are too fast to catch them on camera.

I hope you will enjoy these photos as my eyes enjoyed what they have seen.

Send you a smile dear #steemians!

P.S. The pictures belong to me!