On the island of Ischia, in Zaro, there is a garden that tells stories from all over the world. The Argentinean Susana Valeria Rosa Maria Gil Passo and her partner, the composer William Walton, chose the island as their home and decided to create their secret garden there.
William Walton (Oldham, England, 1902 – Forio d’Ischia 1983) was one of the main English musicians of the twentieth century. The artist settled on the island of Ischia in 1949 in the surroundings of the characteristic village of Forio, where he finished in 1983. "La Mortella" is the beautiful garden, now open to the public, created by Susana Walton, William’s Argentine wife. In 1956 the famous landscape architect Russell Page designed the layout of the garden integrating it among the picturesque rock formations of volcanic origin. La Mortella is divided into two parts: a lower garden, called "Valley", and a higher garden placed on the hill. The whole surface extends for about 2 hectares and houses a collection that boasts more than 3000 species of rare exotic plants. Countless collections of giant water lilies, orchids, palms, cycads, tree ferns inserted in tropical greenhouses and aviaries. Everything is designed with skill and is enriched by fountains, pools and streams that allow the cultivation of a superb collection of aquatic plants including papyrus, lotus flowers and tropical water lilies. The various areas of the garden are connected by a series of avenues and paths that from terrace to terrace lead the visitor up to the splendid views overlooking the bay of Forio.
A corner of the garden full of beautiful lotus flowers houses the Thai Room, a place of Thai meditation that is a pleasant stop for visitors. In the museum is preserved a prestigious collection of images made by the great Cecil Beaton, the artist photographer who has crossed all the avant-garde of the last century.
