Gianmario Motta, Società Italiana della Camelia, Vice-President; International Camellia Society, Vice-President for Europe (motta05@unipv.it)

Nicola Tartaglione, advisor of Villa Porfidia, formerly a garden of Dukes of Bovino (Infor@nicolatartaglione.it)

England and Naples were key elements of the acclimatization of camellias in Europe. For, at the end of Eighteenth Century, the Reggia of Caserta, a Versailles-like residence of the King of Naples, hosted camellias planted outdoor, one of the first times in Europe. The seed was english and also English people played an important role at the court of Naples, with Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson. Close to the Reggia, in the ancient garden of Dukes of Bovino, we have found a rare variety, called “Atroviolacea” by the local enthusiasts. We think this camellia and the garden of the Dukes have an historical value. For, the Dukes were in close relations with the King of Naples and with Lady Hamilton. On the other side, “Atroviolacea” is a peculiar flower with a rose-violet color. We also suppose this camellia might stem from an old english cultivar, first mentioned in 1833.

The garden of the Dukes of Bovino

The history of the garden of Dukes of Bovino, an old aristocratic family, is closely related to the Reggia of Caserta. The Reggia belongs to the series of royal residences that were built during the Eighteenth Century throughout Europe; in them the formal garden was integrated by an informal “English” garden, in which new plants were raised. Specifically, Caserta was designed by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1752, on input of Carlo III of Borbone, an extremely brilliant king, who conquered the kingdom of Naples and eventually became King of Spain. The garden lay-out of the Reggia is based on a downhill suite of waterfalls, and, on a corner, on the informal English Garden.

Figure 1 Map of the garden of Dukes of Bovino, in Recale

The palace of the Dukes, built in the late Eighteenth Century around a medieval tower, is perfectly preserved and it shows the typical ingredients of the aristocratic residence: a scenic staircase with sculptures and a suite of painted rooms. The garden, is largely influenced by the Reggia, that is only one kilometre far. Rare enough, it still keeps its original lay-out, said to be designed by Vanvitelli. Near to the boarder, a cylindrical tower was the terminal of the water duct, that conveyed water from the Reggia, as by a royal privilege of 1781. The central part is a formal Italian garden, with clipped Taxus Bacchata, walls covered with roses, lemons. A long path, called Path of Umbrellas, goes through the formal garden and it is bordered by Buxus clipped with the shape of umbrella and garden benches. Then you enter an ancient wood of Quercus Ilex, that made the core of the garden in Seventeenth Century. The transition from classic to romantic, from formal to informal is reflected by the planting, in the middle of the squares of the italian garden, of new (at those days) tropical species as the gigantic (nowadays) Camphora and Lyriodendron Tulipifera, with the prescription of “letting them grow freely without pruning”. Also, in the wood you find a small pond and benches for rest and meditation. Between the wood and the italian garden, some camellia varieties are planted: “Anemoniflora rosea”, “Atroviolacea”, “Comte de Gomer”, “Francesco Ferruccio”, “General Pescetto”, “Sacio”.

 The history of the garden and of the dukes is closely related to the history of Reggia and kings. In 1752, during the works on the Reggia, the architect Luigi Vanvitelli writes he was many times dining guest of the Father General of Jesuites (the Palace of Dukes was then inhabited by Jesuites). In 1770-80,  the Duchess of Bovino, Anna Maria Suardo, is dame de compagnie of the queen Maria Carolina, and in 1781 obtains from the king Ferdinando IV (son of Charles III) the usage of the waters of the Reggia for her garden. In 1786, Emma Hart, from 1791 Lady Hamilton, came to Naples, joining Lord Hamilton (1730–1803), England Ambassador to Naples since 1764. Spouse of Lord Hamilton, lover of Lord Nelson, the English Admiral who defeated Napoleon on the sea at Abukir and Trafalgar, Emma had an enormous influence on the fashion, where she  promoted the passage to a natural dressing and look, as it is painted in the famous Romney’s portrait. Emma also promoted a return to classic reminiscences and romantic sentiments. As Goethe reports in his “Italienische Reise”, Emma was giving a peculiar show, called attitudes, where she played mythological characters for a little public of the royal court.[1] Last not least, Emma was an enthusiast of flowers. A local tradition, transmitted by the Dukes to the Porfidia family (current owners of the garden), tells Emma set a plantation of Mimosa Pudica in their garden.

In more general terms, the context was extremely passionate in gardens and botanical novelties. In 1786, John Graefer, introduced by sir Joseph Bank, was appointed as gardener of the queen Maria Carolina, who was in close relations with the Duchess of Bovino. Sir Hamilton was the supervisor of the garden. Always in 1786, a camellia was planted in the English Garden of Caserta and it is still alive, though it lost the main trunk (current research may prove or disprove this gentle tradition). Hence, the convergence of the Garden of Dukes, the English Garden of Caserta and its camellia has some evidence. Here below you find a more complete story, which has been put together by Herbert Short. [2] A further interesting element is the presence of very old and healthy camellias in aristocratic gardens of Naples. We can reasonably suppose that the use of planting camellias outdoor, originated in Caserta, became popular among aristocracy. For instance, the garden of Princess Uzza De Gregorio, designed by Vanvitelli, the same architect of the Reggia [3], counts tenths of monumental camellia trees.

Which “Atroviolacea” is the true one?

The “Atroviolacea” in the garden of Dukes is a mature and healthy tree, that flowers freely, even if shaded by a Magnolia. The flower has a rather peculiar colour, rose to violet, it is of medium size, anemone form. When maturing, the flower becomes red-violet. There is a high percentage of semidouble striped sports. More detail is given by the pictures, that illustrate the flower just open and maturing, and the tables here below, which describe the cultivar according to the framework used by Corneo and Remotti and compare key elements of different descriptions .

With the bias of a local enthusiast, we consider “Atroviolacea” a remarkable variety, thanks to the peculiarity of its color. However, matching the plant of Caserta with the descriptions given in literature is a rather controversial issue. Since violet is an unusual color, it is possible that different cultivars received, independently, the name “Atroviolacea”, that in Latin means “dark violet”. For, the descriptions as “Atroviolacea” in Camellia Register are heterogeneous[4]. The first description by Courts in 1833 shows a loose parentage with the plant of Caserta. In 1837, Berlese describes a different flower with the same name and, furthermore, he excludes it can be considered as violet. The Register records also a citation in 1857 by the English Garden of Caserta, on which we have not found any evidence. We suppose a violet colour was regarded as a curiosity and not as a regular item in camellia catalogues. For instance, Atroviolacea  is not mentioned in the 1847 edition of the French almanac Le Bon Jardinier, that lists hundreds of cultivars. Conversely, we have found a description of “Atroviolacea” in an Italian handbook on camellias, published in 1926.

On the other side, the plant of Caserta looks old, but not enough to date back to the Nineteenth Century. Its closest description could be the one by Courtois but, helas, no illustration can support our hypothesis. Therefore, we might eventually guess the tree of Caserta stems from a plant probably imported from UK to the Naples area.