Camellietum Compitese

Garden Overview

The Camellietum (= Arboretum of Camellias) is in Sant’Andrea di Compito, in the county of Capannori, Province of Lucca, on the slope of Pisani mountains, on acid soil, in a lateral valley crossed by a creek named “Rio di Botia”. It was born in 2002, when the community of S. Andrea and Pieve di Compito, with the municipality of Capannori, decided to create a public garden of only camellias. The Camellietum, with an area of about 10.00 square meters, hosts today over 800 camellia trees and over 250 labeled taxa. Every year, during the show “Antiche Camelie della Lucchesia” (Ancient Camellia of Lucca Region), the Camellietum is visited by over 10.00 people coming from Europe, mainly from Germany and Austria. The show is open in the first three March weekends, in the boroughs of Pieve di Compito and Sant’Andrea di Compito.

Our camellias

Tuscany has an ancient tradition of camellia growers, as marquis Cosimo Ridolfi (“Ridolfiana”), Mr. Emilio Santarelli (“Giardino Santarelli”), the Mercatelli brothers (“Giuseppina Mercatelli”), and many others. In Compito, doctor Oscar Borrini, owner of Villa Borrini in Compito, ancestor of Guido Cattolica, one of the most reputed expert of ancient camellias, created famous varieties, still widely cultivated, as “Ida Borrini”, “Oscar Borrini” (named in 1835 in honor of his son Oscar). Around Compito you can find villas with centennial camellia gardens, which were visited during the 2005 ICS Pre-Congress tour: Villa Oliva, Villa Reale, Villa Borrini, Villa Orsi, Chiusa Borrini. With the objective of classifying such cultivar heritage, Guido Cattolica, Angelo Lippi and Paolo Tomei, published in 1992 a research on Tuscan Camellias (“Camelie dell’Ottocento in Italia”). The conservation of ancient ofTuscan and Italian varieties is the primary goal of Camellietum.

Camellia japonica “Ida Borrini”, a delicate flower originate in Tuscany

Camellia japonica “Gardino Santarelli”, a stunning cultivar originate in Tuscany