Giardino Inglese (English Garden), Palermo

The English Garden, now known as Piersanti Mattarella Park, is a notable public park in Palermo, originally designed in 1851 by architect Giovan Battista Filippo Basile. Embracing the 19th-century aesthetic, Basile crafted the garden to align with the contours of the natural landscape rather than adhering to the rigid geometries typical of Italian gardens. This approach created an "English garden" characterized by its undulating hills, curvilinear paths, and an overall more spontaneous, organic feel.

A unique aspect of the English Garden is its global botanical collection, which was established with the expertise of Vincenzo Tineo, the then Director of the Botanical Garden of Palermo. The park is distinguished by its exotic plants from around the world, including notable species like Ficus macrophylla, Cycas revoluta, Dracaena draco, Dermatophyllum secundiflorum, Jacaranda mimosifolia, and others.

The garden is divided into two main sections by Liberty Avenue (Viale della Libertà): the forest and the parterre. The forest area features a small temple designed by Ernesto Basile, inspired by Arab-Norman architecture, and a neglected glass and iron greenhouse. Throughout the park, visitors can encounter numerous sculptures, such as the work by Benedetto Civiletti depicting the Kanaris in Scio.

The parterre section is home to the former "Villa Garibaldi," now a memorial space honoring judges Falcone and Morvillo, and features an equestrian statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, created by Vincenzo Ragusa for the 1891 National Exhibition. The statue is accompanied by historical reliefs and the Lion of Caprera by Mario Rutelli.

Additionally, the garden includes a memorial to Pompeo Colajanni, a partisan who played a role in the liberation of Italy and Sicily during World War II. Despite its historical and botanical significance, the park has faced challenges such as a non-functioning lighting system for 19 years, leading to several incidents of vandalism.

Today, the English Garden remains a significant cultural and botanical site in Palermo, reflecting the historical and aesthetic values of the era in which it was conceived.