Jacquard Garden

With its unique versatility and richness of exotic tree species, the Jacquard Garden, designed by architect Antonio Caregaro Negrin, is truly an interesting expression of Venetian culture and of the culture of the European late nineteenth century. The entrance to the Garden opens in axis with the monumental door of the Tuscan gate of the woollen mill of Francesco Rossi, to emphasize the link of the site with the factory. The elegant gate, flanked by four octagonal pillars topped with lanterns, is adorned with floral decorations gathered in the grating placed in the original high wall. At the base, there is a stone seat used by workers waiting to enter various departments of the plant. The other sides of the site retain high walls in brick and stone, decorated with geometric motifs, typical of gardens designed by architect Caregaro Negrin. To the left of the gate stands the canopy for the workers, built by engineer. E. L . Pergameni in 1878, on a part of the area previously occupied by the Jacquard Weaving section. The building has three equal sides and, in a niche in the Lombard style, contains the marble bust of Francesco Rossi (by F. Groggia) dedicated to him by his son Alexander in 1861. Opposite the entrance the bronze statue of Alexander Rossi welcomes the visitors. Further to the right there is a fountain, now planted with roses. Close to the fence, between flower beds with rocks, you can see a magnolia soulangeana and a libocedrus. Continuing on the left side of the avenue there is a palm tree, surrounded with roses, while other plant specimens dot the meadow among the great bustle in the middle of the yard. On the right, towards the south-east, the garden is enclosed by the spectacular building of the Jacquard Theatre, whose façade is adorned with twelve terracotta medallions, designed by Gian Battista Boni and depicting famous personalities, who shaped the city's history. Next, on a pedestal in the shape of a palm trunk, there is the stone bust of Sebastiano Bologna, the founding partner of the mill of Francesco Rossi. Nearby, close to the mountain, you can see an evergreen redwood and a large Portuguese cypress. Continuing to the left, the sinuous, warm and moist greenhouse appears in all its beauty, which is the cornerstone of the Garden, the first wing for those who come from the outside and a portal introducing the system of further fountains, caves and trails. At the centre of the semi-circular roof, jutting out in front of the greenhouse, originally there was a statue of Flora, and later, until the restoration in the 1990s, an aviary from 1800s made of iron and zinc. On the back of the greenhouse, opens the most amazing part of the garden, with intricate paths through rocks, caves and neo-Gothic architecture, culminating with the reconstruction of the ruins of the castle of Schio, which extends up to the top of the hill with a bridge and a viewpoint overlooking the Rossi Wool Mill and the nineteenth-century city. The extreme background of the Garden is the sixteenth-century church of San Rocco, outside the garden fence, where the Caregaro Negrin adds the neo-Gothic bell tower to emphasize the upward development of the garden. It is also the focal point of the spectacular staircase of San Rocco with the park of the Castle. Coming down from the terraced gardens to the north-west side, the head of a crocodile appears at the side of a cave, while on the other side stands the octagonal tower, flanked by two large Photinias. From here you can take two paths, one goes alongside the fence and starts with an evergreen redwood, the other, more central, is marked by a grove of yews. The alleys continue coupled further among privet, hackberry and magnolia, accompanying the visitor to the exit.