Image – Wikimedia / Rafesmar
Spain is a country where we can find gardens of great beauty, such as those of the Alhambra in Granada, or the Monforte Gardensin Valencia. The latter, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest, are home to hedges transformed into labyrinths and figures, statues and plants that embellish it.
Its creator, Juan Bautista Romero, who was Marqués de San Juan, gave it a neoclassical stylewhich is why, when visiting it, it gives the impression of being in a traditional French garden. Order is present in all the elements of the garden: the harmony of colors and the place occupied by all the elements that make it up is what it has to be.
Origin and history of the Jardin de Monforte
Image – Wikimedia / Abdeaitali
The Gardens of Monforte, also known as Hort de Rosero, were designed in the XNUMXth centurygiving them a neoclassical style. They have an area of 12.597 square meters. Its first owner, Juan Bautista Romero, who would receive the title of Marqués de San Juan, commissioned it to the architect Sebastián Monleón y Estellés in 1859. On the death of the marquis, in 1872, the gardens would become his wife’s , who would leave them as an inheritance to Doña Josefa Sancho Cortés, one of his nieces, who would marry Joaquín Monforte Parrés. This marriage caused that since then it was renamed the Jardin de Monforte.
In somewhat more recent times, in the 1940s, Javier Winthuysen Losadawho dedicated his life to painting but also to designing gardens, restored it with the help of the municipal gardener Ramón Peris. Something that undoubtedly came in handy, since a garden must always be cared for to keep it well; if not, the passage of time and neglect makes the plants grow uncontrollably, the herbs invade the flowers, and the rose bushes stop blooming. What’s more, in 1941 it would be declared as »National Artistic Garden».
In 1970, it would become municipal property, and three years later it would be opened to the public for the first time.
Interesting places in the Monforte Gardens
Image – Wikimedia / Onderwijsgek
When visiting a historical garden it is interesting to see everything. But there are a number of areas in Monforte that are special, such as recreation pavilion. It was built by indications of the Marquis of San Juan. It is a kind of palace flanked by two statues, one on each side, and which also has a beautiful balcony from which you can see different areas.
Another area is the garden gazebowhich is a wide area with large trees that provide shade, in which there is a roundabout that protects one of the 33 marble statues in the area. Here we can also enjoy the waterfall over which there is a wooden bridge.
As a curious fact, to enter the garden you have to go through the hall of the pavilion, after which you come to a small square decorated by busts of philosophers that were placed on pedestals. From this, you access a neoclassical door flanked by two figures of marble lions. Well, These statues were originally made for the steps of the Congress of Deputies in Madrid, but eventually they stayed in Valencia as they were considered too small.
Hours and how to get there
Image – Wikimedia Commons / Joanbanjo
The Jardines de Monforte are open every day, but the hours change a bit depending on the months:
- March to October: it is from 10 to 20 hours.
- From November to February: 10 to 18 of hours.
But there are exceptions: on December 24 and 31 they close at 13; and on December 25 and January 1 they remain closed. Anyway, before going it is advisable to visit the web or contact them.
Admission is freeand its address is Calle de Monfort, without number, in Valencia. Very close to there are the Jardines del Real or Viveros, whose visit we also recommend.
What did you think of the Jardines de Monforte? Do you dare to go?
