Grandi Giardini Italiani is a network of 132 gardens that can be visited in fourteen Italian regions, with the addition of Switzerland, the Vatican City and Malta. The network of the most beautiful gardens that can be visited in Italy, which also includes the Negombo Hydrothermal Park, was founded in 1997 on the initiative of Judith Wade. Grandi Giardini Italiani has become over the years, a prestigious brand that certifies and distinguishes historical, modern and contemporary gardens: five hundred years of history of the art of Italian gardens and landscape that represent in the universal collective imagination one of the most prestigious icons of Made in Italy. Grandi Giardini Italiani is a leader in the so-called Horticultural Tourism sector and, as an autonomous entity, certifies and guarantees tourists the level of maintenance and the botanical and artistic importance of the gardens of the Network. At the stand of Grandi Giardini Italiani you will be able to purchase the bilingual Guide to the Grandi Giardini Italiani, which dedicates to each Garden participating in the Network, including the Negombo Hydrothermal Park, a complete card with updated information on history, art, nature, services offered and much more.

Giardini del Casoncello represent in our territory a unique example of a natural and eco-sustainable garden and contain a botanical richness that is difficult to find in the relatively small space of one hectare. Born from the transformation of an old abandoned farm, they are today an important point of reference not only locally but also nationally and internationally, for garden enthusiasts and scholars, thanks also to their unusual typology. Using wild plants and ornamental plants in harmonious mixture, excluding any chemical product, exploiting the possibilities of the existing, following the suggestions proposed by nature, over time, a place of great beauty has been created where aesthetic research is constantly combined with the respect for the natural way in all its forms. Today the Giardini del Casoncello therefore offer themselves as an example for the gardens of the future, because they are a concrete testimony of how it is possible, even in the artifice of the garden, to protect natural life. They are also a living museum of infinite plant species, a great “green book” which can be drawn on by those who, by profession, study, or just for pleasure, want to deepen their knowledge of the world of plants. The creator of the garden Maria Gabriella Buccioli and currently its curator was present.

Gourmet tasting based on flowers inside the fair, led by chef Nino Di Costanzo of Daní Maison restaurant, Pasquale Palamaro of Indaco restaurant, Emmanuel Di Liddo of Al FuGà del Negombo restaurant, Luigi Lionetti from the restaurant Le Monzù, Capri, Ivano Veccia from the restaurant Da Ciccio. Sunday 27 May 2018 at 4:00 pm. In recent times, the use of edible flowers in the kitchen is growing rapidly; this is because in addition to being used as a decoration given their chromaticity, they can also be appreciated as food. There are, in fact, about fifty varieties of edible or edible flowers. Incredible, but true, from a nutritional point of view, these flowers are very low in fat and rich in nutrients such as minerals, proteins and vitamins, they also have a high amount of antioxidants. To be precise, we have not invented anything at all, this new gastronomic trend is not innovative! Already in Roman times there are testimonies that attest to the use of yellow and pink flower petals in some dishes. Obviously, following the rules of common sense, then consulting the list of flowers that are actually edible, and choosing only those grown naturally without treatments.

Native weed plants: a name that recalls the annoying, but also the Bacchic, the Dionysian. For the "exotic plants" another terminology is used, very questionable, calling them "xenophytes" or "alien plants", a name that recalls a well-known series of rather terrifying science fiction films, entitled Alien, in fact. But all this is also reminiscent of another film: The Day of the Triffids, a true masterpiece of cinema: it begins right at the Kew Garden, with the appearance of a strange seedling which, by multiplying excessively, will end up almost destroying the planet Earth. Today a real phobia has arisen for these species, whether casual or naturalized, which if it finds some reason to exist only in certain specific cases, in the vast majority it is absolutely inappropriate. This fear, anxiety, is in fact rather worrying and serious for all the socio-cultural but also ethno-anthropological implications that it entails. And there are congresses, conferences, round tables to find, defeat and destroy these dangerous, invasive, "terrorist" species. Clear indication of an unresolved attitude towards the concepts of tolerance and sharing among the living beings of this planet. It seems that today we prefer to "conflict", fight and not "collude", play together .... With this in mind, therefore, a "Praise of the Aliens" will be proposed, of some of these exotic plants, often equipped with extraordinary adaptive strategies which, in this historical period, are often so strongly feared and despised.

The book “Botanical Wonders - Gardens and Parks of Palermo” was presented, a journey through the significant plant presences of the historic public and private gardens of Palermo. A series of images of expressive entities or plant rarities present in the city of Palermo were projected. Dr. Manlio Speciale, botanist, is curator of the botanical garden of the University of Palermo, expert consultant and scientific technician of the Municipality of Palermo. He also participated in the Ipomea 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2011 editions.