Parco Giardino Sigurtà, Botanical park in Valeggio sul Mincio, Italy

Parco Giardino Sigurtà is a 60-hectare landscape park on two morainic hills above the left bank of the Mincio in Valeggio sul Mincio. Its oldest tree is a 400-year-old oak, and its box trees are clipped into playful, grotesque shapes rather than strict geometry. The 600-metre rose avenue runs north to south, with the Scaliger castle of Valeggio visible beyond the park.

The estate's documented history begins in 1407, when Venetian patrician Gerolamo Nicolò Contarini acquired a walled "brolo cinto de muro" for farming. The Maffei family took over by marriage; Count Antonio Maffei had a Renaissance villa built in 1693 and secured water rights from the Mincio in 1699. Pharmaceutical industrialist Giuseppe Carlo Sigurtà bought the abandoned grounds in 1941 for 800,000 lire and revived them; the park opened to the public in 1983.

During spring, people gather to see more than a million tulips blooming across the lawns. Families often arrive early in the morning to photograph the flower beds before crowds arrive.

Visitors can explore the grounds on foot, by rental bicycle, electric golf cart, or a small train that loops through the garden. The wide paths suit wheelchairs and strollers, and most areas are easy to reach.

The yew maze covers 2,500 square metres and was inaugurated in 2011 after six years of preparation and construction. A viewpoint at its centre lets visitors look back over the hedges. The park also holds a 400-year-old oak, its oldest tree.