Villa Amedeo, formerly Selva dei Cappuccini

2 Minutes of reading

The Carbonari uprisings of 1820 turned into a sort of civil war in Sicily, and Caltanissetta, which had remained loyal to the Bourbon government, was subjected to looting by revolutionary troops.

As a result, in the months immediately following those tragic events, the municipal council decided to provide work for the citizens of Caltanissetta who had lost their property, by creating a public garden on the southern edge of the city, near the Capuchin convent. In recognition of the loyalty shown by the people of Caltanissetta during the events of 1820, King Ferdinand of Bourbon granted that the garden be named Villa Isabella, after his wife.

Naturally, with the unification of Italy, the name was changed and the garden was dedicated to Amedeo of Savoy. The garden has a longitudinal layout, parallel to Viale Regina Margherita, where one of its entrances is located, and it has incorporated the woodland of the Capuchin convent. Inside, the garden is divided into four parts, following the typical layout of an Italian garden, with two pathways intersecting at the center in a circular square with a fountain.

The vegetation features tall pine trees and Mediterranean shrubs. At the end of the main avenue, almost in front of the old Capuchin Convent, later transformed into the Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, stands a bust of Vittorio Emanuele II by Michele Tripisciano. The bronze eagle holding the city’s coat of arms, which once stood at the base of the statue but broke off due to erosion, is now preserved at the Tripisciano Museum. Other busts of Italian poets, mostly by Giuseppe Frattallone, are located in the center of the side squares.

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