Punctual as ever, from 30th march to 1st May, Messer Tulipano, the extraordinary floral event that has been held for 24 years in the park of the Castle of Pralormo, returns to announce the arrival of spring in Turin. With the extraordinary flowering of over 100,000 tulips and daffodils, the event involves the entire park, designed in the nineteenth century by court architect Xavier Kurten.
Kurten, creator of the most important English-style parks of the Savoy residences and in Piedmont, took advantage of the natural scenery of the mountains of the Monviso group in Pralormo to create a park with magnificent views and scenic effects. The very location of the trees, in addition to their decorative function, achieved by the alternating colours of their foliage in the different seasons, is said to have been decided to attract certain species of birds, so that their song could be heard in that location in a given season.
The park still retains the charm of its original historic layout, and the view of the colourful flowerbeds meandering through the centuries-old trees is a spectacle of rare beauty. For this reason, over the years Messer Tulipano has achieved international fame and received prestigious awards such as, in 2006, a certificate of excellence from the commission of the Chelsea Flower Show in London and, in 2015 an invitation to Clarence House by the then Prince Charles to represent the Great Italian Gardens.
In addition to the walk through the park among the multi-coloured tulips, every year the event offers themed exhibitions. This year, the Orangerie Pavilion, created to protect citrus plants in winter, hosts an exhibition dedicated to paper. It will be possible to admire precious ancient manuscripts from the Castle Archives, calligraphy exercises and virtuosity, but also a collection of pens, musical scores from different eras, ancient toy theatres, paper clothes, a collection of origami jewellery and works of art made of paper.
During the Messer Tulipano event, the Castle will also be open to the public with two itineraries: one dedicated to daily life in an ancient residence, through cellars, kitchens, dining rooms and halls of honour and the other to the Count's Train, an amazing period contraption occupying three rooms, on which 0 scale train sets travel among landscapes painted on the walls, tunnels dug into the walls and an interesting freight yard.
Inside the park, there is also a bar-restaurant that offers a local menu and picnic areas. There is also a shopping area where you can buy local delicacies, artisan honey and
jams, gastronomic delights, wines, natural cosmetics, textiles and household items as well as plants and flowers.
At the Castle you can also stay overnight in the Rural Suites "Le case della Giardiniera", rooms and apartments adjacent to the boundary wall of the Castle, which was once inhabited by the people who worked there.
For more information, see: www.castellodipralormo.com/le-visite-del-castello/
The Castle of Pralormo and the Messer Tulipano event will be the destination of our Turin school trip in April. What are you waiting for? Sign up and join us!
Scuola Leonardo da Vinci Turin
The welcoming friendly atmosphere of our school will make you feel at home and you can relax with your classmates in the small gardens of the adjacent pedestrian area.
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