Villa delle Ginestre, 18th-century villa in Torre del Greco, Italy

Villa delle Ginestre stands in the Leopardi district of Torre del Greco, at the foot of the Camaldoli hill (Colle di Sant'Alfonso), far from the sea and unlike the villas lined along the Miglio d'oro. The building has a simple square plan over two levels; in 1907 a neoclassical portico with Doric columns was added on three sides, carrying a large terrace that looks toward Vesuvius on one side and the Gulf of Naples on the other. Two cypresses planted by Giuseppe Ferrigni flanked the villa, and one is still alive.

The villa was built in the late 18th century by canon Giuseppe Simioli and changed hands several times during the 19th century as it became a favored retreat for Neapolitan families. It has been under the care of the Vesuvian Villas Authority since 1962 and opened to the public after major restoration work.

The villa takes its name from La ginestra, the poem Giacomo Leopardi wrote here in 1836 while staying with Antonio Ranieri, brother-in-law of the owner Giuseppe Ferrigni. Since 2006 it has hosted the Premio leopardiano La Ginestra, awarded to scholars who study and spread Leopardi's poetry. The surrounding district is called Leopardi in the poet's memory.

The villa stands on the Colle di Sant'Alfonso, the hill of the Camaldoli, in the Leopardi district of Torre del Greco, not on the Vesuvius slopes facing the sea. It is reached by road from the town, and after the 2012 restoration it is open to visitors under the Ente per le Ville Vesuviane. The 1907 portico and its panoramic terrace face the volcano on one side and the Gulf of Naples on the other.

The poem Leopardi wrote here shares its name with the villa itself, both named after the broom plant that grows wild on the slopes of Vesuvius. He chose the plant as a symbol because it flowers in the hardened lava fields, surviving in difficult ground without any shelter above it.