Villa comunale di Salerno, Urban park in Salerno, Italy.
Villa Comunale di Salerno is an urban park featuring paved pathways lined with circular flower beds and Mediterranean trees throughout its grounds. The space includes children's play areas, shaded seating, and a collection of plant varieties, positioned near the Verdi Theater.
The garden was laid out from 1870 to a plan by architect Casalbore, on ground reclaimed from the sea where religious complexes had stood since the Middle Ages. In 1899 the eastern flower bed facing the theatre was removed to open a public promenade, and the monument to Giovanni Nicotera was inaugurated on 3 October 1897. The building of the Prefettura later cut the garden's extent.
The villa's name for its central fountain, the Fontana del Tullio, comes from Don Tullio; tradition holds it was given to Gioacchino Murat for his birthday. The garden was laid out beside the Verdi theatre, and the theatre and villa together made this one of the most fashionable quarters of nineteenth-century Salerno, where musical and cultural events were often held. A filodiffusione sound system accompanies walks through the grounds.
The park is open daily and has clear pathways with plenty of seating areas for resting throughout. Visiting in early morning or late afternoon hours offers the most comfortable conditions with fewer crowds.
The statue of Giovanni Nicotera, made by Alfonso Balzico in 1897, was melted down for bullets during the world war; the figure now standing in the villa is a 1960s replacement by Corrado Patroni, shown tearing up his own death sentence.
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