No products in the cart.

Guide to the Rose Varieties of the Italian Garden at Villa Le Corti

Guide to the Rose Varieties of the Italian Garden at Villa Le Corti

A Great Variety of Roses

In the heart of Chianti Classico, in San Casciano in Val di Pesa, the gardens of Villa Le Corti preserve a botanical itinerary that winds through imposing trees and boxwood geometries. In particular, the villa’s Italian Garden (Giardino all’Italiana) is a verdant tribute to history and elegance.

Walking among the majestic boxwood hedges means embarking on a unique sensory journey, defined by the contrast between Renaissance geometric design and the delicacy of rare, precious roses.

(Photo: Cornelia Rose)

In this guide, we invite you to discover the rose varieties found here, revealing their secrets, origins, and symbolism. To fully appreciate the richness of the Italian Garden, we have divided the collection into thematic groups, to which we will dedicate several articles. This distinction follows not only botanical criteria but is intertwined with the charm of the names and the evocations these roses have inspired for centuries.

Varieties Dedicated to Female Figures

Among the pathways of Villa Le Corti, femininity is celebrated through rose varieties bearing the names of iconic figures from history, the arts, and the world of entertainment. These are true botanical portraits, capable of evoking the charisma of the women to whom they are dedicated. It is a collection that transforms the Italian Garden of Villa Le Corti into an exhibition of timeless style and beauty.

  • Donna Marella Agnelli Rose: a modern Barni hybrid created in 1988. A highly elegant rose with a pearlescent pink hue. Barni developed this variety to reflect Marella Agnelli’s innate elegance and sophisticated understatement. Known for its ability to maintain its shape and color intact over time, it symbolizes a beauty that never fades.

(Photo: Lady Hillingdon Rose)

  • Marilyn Monroe Rose: a refined Hybrid Tea created in 2002 by American hybridizer Tom Carruth. Famous for its large, impeccably shaped flowers, which bloom in a creamy-ivory shade with a heart that delicately fades into peach-apricot. Like the actress it is named after, it exudes a magnetic charm and sculptural beauty. The choice of the cream color with peach nuances is a nod to Marilyn Monroe’s radiant glow.
  • Lady Hillingdon Rose: a refined climbing Tea rose, originally created as a bush in 1910 by Lowe & Shawyer and later introduced as a climber in 1917 by Elisha J. Hicks. It is renowned for its elegant nodding flowers, characterized by a deep golden yellow shade with warm apricot hues. The rose is dedicated to Alice Marion Beckett, Lady Hillingdon, a prominent figure in the British aristocracy of the time.

(Photo: Marilyn Monroe Rose)

  • Cécile Brünner Rose: also known as “The Sweetheart Rose“, an enchanting Polyantha hybrid created in France in 1881 by Marie-Louise Ducher. It is famous for its almost continuous blooming of small, pale pink flowers, perfectly shaped like miniature Hybrid Tea buds. It was dedicated to the daughter of Ulrich Brünner, a renowned Swiss nurseryman of the time.
  • Berenice Rose: a modern hybrid created in 1994 by the Barni nurseries in Pistoia. This variety is particularly admired for its sophisticated and changing coloration: the flowers are large and double, with a light salmon heart that delicately fades into pastel pink and cream hues on the outer petals. The name recalls fascinating historical and mythological figures, such as Berenice of Cyrene, evoking an idea of regal and radiant beauty.

(Photo: Cécile Brünner Rose)

  • Cornelia Rose: a fascinating Hybrid Musk created in 1925 by the British clergyman and renowned hybridizer Joseph Pemberton. Famous for its abundant and graceful blooming: it produces small double flowers, with slightly ruffled petals, gathered in large, generous clusters. The color is a delicate combination of strawberry pink and apricot that gently fades into cream and pale pink hues.
  • Mme Isaac Pereire Rose: a Bourbon Rose created in France in 1881 by Armand Garçon. It is famous for its giant, “quartered” blooms (with petals divided into four sections) densely packed with petals, in an intense and vibrant magenta pink that fades into purple. Dedicated to the wife of Isaac Pereire, an influential French banker of the late 19th century.

(Photo: Mme Isaac Pereire Rose)

Heritage and Nobility: Roses Dedicated to Male Figures

Alongside the rose varieties dedicated to female figures, the garden of Villa Le Corti also pays homage to great personalities and historic hybridizers through other roses with a strong character and deep colors.

  • Louis XIV Rose: a China Rose created in France in 1859 by hybridizer Jean-Baptiste Guillot. Famous for its extremely intense, almost dark crimson hue, with velvety nuances that turn to black and dark purple, making it one of the most famous “black” roses in history. Dedicated to the “Sun King”, it exalts the luxury of the court of Versailles.

(Photo: Cécile Brunner Rose)

The "Quatre Saisons" Rose: The Secret of Eternal Bloom

  • Francis Dubreuil Rose: a refined Hybrid Tea created in 1894 by the French hybridizer Francis Dubreuil. Renowned for its dark, velvety crimson red flowers, characterized by a cupped shape and an intense, enveloping fragrance.
  • Ferdinand Pichard Rose: a Hybrid Perpetual created in France in 1921 by hybridizer Remi Tanne. Known for the originality of its flowers: each corolla is a unique piece, decorated with bold stripes and splashes ranging from pale pink to white, up to an intense crimson red. The name is a direct homage to its creator’s personal and professional sphere.

(Photo: Ferdinand Pichard Rose)

The "Quatre Saisons" Rose: The Secret of Eternal Bloom

The journey through the rose varieties of the Italian Garden at Villa Le Corti concludes with an entire chapter dedicated to the Quatre Saisons rose. Also known as “Rosa damascena bifera”, it is a variety characterized by a light and luminous pink color.

The Quatre Saisons, the landscape rose par excellence, possesses the extraordinary ability to offer its highly fragrant flowers even in autumn. Known since antiquity and beloved in Renaissance gardens, this variety represents the deep connection between the Villa and classical horticultural tradition.

(Photo: Quatre Saisons Rose)

Visit the Gardens

To discover the timeless charm of the most beautiful rose varieties, visit the Italian Garden at Villa Le Corti. The garden complex is open to visitors from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (last entry at 4:00 PM) between March 1st and May 31st and from October 1st to October 31st. From June 1st to September 30th, the hours are from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (last entry at 5:00 PM).

(Photo: Quatre Saisons Rose)

Tickets

Request more information

Contact us for more information.

Contacts

Read more

Electroculture: the Energetic vegetable garden of ...

What to do in Chianti: 12 hours at Villa Le Corti

Microorganisms: what they are and how to make them