La Mortella Gardens

About the garden

Owned by

William Walton Trust

New for 2024: The gardens La Mortella were developed by Susana Walton, wife of the late British composer Sir William Walton, on the volcanic island Ischia, in the bay of Naples, where the couple arrived in 1949 for a short residence and moved permanently in 1956.
 
Lady Walton, a keen gardener, dedicated her life to the development of the gardens, originally with the help of landscape architect Russell Page, who designed the layout of the lower garden. Through the years she collected an impressive range of tropical plants including tender tree ferns, proteas and aloes, palm trees, yuccas and agaves, coral trees, Chinese orchid trees and cycads.
 
When William Walton died in 1983, Lady Walton created twin trusts in England and Italy and opened the gardens to the public. She started a series of musical activities, including concerts and master classes to honour her late husband, and kept adding new areas to the gardens – now considered among the most beautiful in Italy. She later bequeathed the property to the William Walton Trust that now runs the gardens.
 
Today, La Mortella is divided into two parts – the sheltered, shady, moist lower garden or ‘The Valley’, with collections of tender tropical plants, and the sunny, open, windy upper garden ‘The Hill’, where drought-loving plants thrive among the volcanic boulders and the dry walls that terrace the slope. The Hill is a celebration of Mediterranean gardening, hosting memorial sites of both Sir William and Lady Susana. It also has an Oriental Garden and an open-air theatre.
 
Throughout the gardens, the landscape is rich with fountains, pools, exotic climbers, and water plants. There are pavilions, glasshouses, a tea house, and a William Walton Museum that offers concerts during the weekends. The many levels of the garden are connected with paths, steps and ramps that allow you to enjoy breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea and the fishermen’s village of Forio.

Please note: This is a partially accessible garden (most of the garden is accessible, but some parts are not easily accessible).