You might have had the opportunity to go to the Bulgari Hotel: someone worldly, someone wanting an excellent drink, some lucky person taking advantage of the SPA, for most because it’s one the most beautiful non private gardens of Milan. It is reached through a private little street that looks so secure and strict that it strongly discourages any wild parking. Have you ever asked yourselves what is at the end of that little street? Well not all cul-de-sacs finish in nothing. At the end of the street, through a small gate, you enter one of the most precious and secret corners of the city: the Botanical Garden of Brera.
Instituted a whopping two and a half centuries ago as desired by Maria Teresa of Austria, with the intention of having a dedicated space – depending on the needs and periods – for gardening, horticulture, cultivation of medicinal plants, meditation and contemplation. The objective was to make the place pleasant for anyone visiting out of their own desire. To this end, even more of a privilege in today’s world, it remains exactly the same.
At the base of the tower which hosts the Brera observatory, you can walk along the little pathways which separate dozens and dozens of geometric flowerbeds which house a multitude of precious vegetation and flower species. You delve into a magic silence broken only by the songs of little birds and the drip-drop of water fountains. Here and there – in unassuming and unexpected corners – we find benches where we can pause to admire, capture the rays of a springtime sun, read our favorite newspaper or enthralling novel, or lose ourselves in romantic conversation. There is even a small vegetable garden, protected by a sweet scarecrow who seems to have stepped out of a fairytale.
The preserved quiet of this place is truly heaven on earth.