Moreno Gardens, Historic garden in Bordighera, Italy.

The Moreno Gardens were a vast 19th-century garden in Bordighera, of which only fragments survive: the Monet gardens on Via Domenico Tumiati and parts of private villas such as Villa Palmizi and Villa Schiva. The original layout ran from Via Aurelia up to Villa Moreno and covered about 80 hectares, planted with exotic species imported by Francesco Moreno and his father Vincenzo.

The garden was established in 1830 by Vincenzo Moreno, who gathered rare plant species from his travels along the Ligurian coast. This collection brought botanical significance to the area during that era.

Claude Monet asked his friend Durand-Ruel to obtain a recommendation to visit the private Moreno Gardens, then painted "Bois d'oliviers au jardin Moreno", "Jardins de la Villa Moreno" and "Jardins Moreno à Bordighera" in 1884. At Villa Mariani the olive tree and the view he painted in "View of Ventimiglia" can still be seen.

The gardens are freely accessible year-round with paths running between different planted areas and can be explored at your own pace. Wear comfortable shoes since the paths are uneven and wind through sloped terrain.

The tallest Canary Island pine in Europe stands at Villa Schiva, Via Romana 17: planted in 1830, it reaches about 36 metres and is visible from the street. The tree was surveyed and listed by the Corpo Forestale dello Stato.