Città Giardino

With its wide, tree-lined streets, Città Giardino is an exciting place to walk around and may remind you of Rome. It is quickly reached from Prato della Valle, and looking around for a moment, you will immediately notice the change in atmosphere of this district, which seems far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life. You will also notice the first extraordinary palaces, such as Casa Mentaschi. Continuing on, you will arrive at the splendid façade of Palazzo Esedra, with its porticoes alternating in unequal steps.

The Città Giardino district of Vanzo was developed in the 1920s as part of a municipal master plan. Following expropriations and demolitions in the city centre at that time, almost two thousand people needed new homes, so a new residential area was built for them in an agricultural area between the Bacchiglione, Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Acquette. The end result was not what one might expect of a neighbourhood built for evictees. From the mid-1920s until the late 1950s, redevelopment provided an opportunity to engage architects and engineers in creating an architectural exhibition featuring various styles, techniques and materials. The district thus became as we see it today: a stately area with numerous small villas and apartment blocks arranged in well-kept gardens along tree-lined avenues.