Seravella's rose garden, Dolomites star

(ANSA) - Belluno, May 22 - The garden of the country villa hosting the Ethnographic Museum of the province of Belluno in Cesiomaggiore is an explosion of colors and fragrances in the spring.
    The most anticipated event is the blooming of the rose garden of Seravella, at the feet of the National Park of Belluno's Dolomites.
    Spring has sprung late this year but flowers are finally blossoming and the inauguration of the 'Rose Garden' is scheduled on Sunday, May 26, at 5 pm local time.
    The panoramic garden that stretches around the villa, once the home of the Counts Azzoni Avogadro, has nearly 400 rose bushes that stun visitors with their fragrance and beauty.
    Created in 2003 by Daniela Perco, who was at the time the Museum's director, with the support of Alida Dal Farra, Renato dal Cin and architect Giuliana Zanella, the garden has grown over the years.
    Heirloom roses were recuperated from the gardens of villas in the Belluno area, as well as from cemeteries, parishes and the vegetable gardens of local farms.
    The garden is unique because no rose bush has been bought.
    The ancient roses come from different places.
    They were taken to the area from a range of locations and through different journeys - by migrants including local wet nurses and farm laborers as well as by local aristocrats who collected roses. This makes the rose garden of Seravella not only precious for the wide variety of roses but also for the human stories behind each rose that continues to blossom year after year - a reflection of the local history that is on display inside the museum.
    Thanks to the contribution of pharmaceutical group Unifarco and the knowledge of hybridizer Davide Dalla Libera, the roses have been identified and catalogued.
    This enables the public to get acquainted with the many types of roses that make the garden a magical place full of inebriating fragrances and an authentic example of biodiversity.
    The inauguration is scheduled on Sunday, May 26, at 5 pm, although the garden will open at 3 pm with guided tours, laboratories for children and live music.
    Another event, ''cycling through roses'', is scheduled on Saturday, June 8, with guided tours organized by the guides MTB Dolomiti Prealpi and a rose expert through the beautiful countryside between Feltre and Cesiomaggiore, full of roses in full bloom in the gardens of villas and farms that are not always accessible to the public.