Kitchen Garden of the Redentore Convent Garden

The convent garden, an oasis behind the church

For a long time entirely hidden from visitors, the garden of the Redentore convent extends behind Palladio's church over approximately one hectare, from the convent complex to the lagoon. Since the end of the 16th century, it has belonged to the world of the Capuchin Friars Minor, who settled near the church after its construction. More than a simple ornamental garden, it traditionally combined cultivation areas, orchards, medicinal plants and places intended for silence and meditation.

Its organization preserves the spirit of the ancient convent gardens. Orthogonal paths divide the cultivated plots while olive trees, vines and fruit trees stand alongside vegetables, aromatic plants and flowers. The garden also has an heir to the traditional Hortus simplicium, the "garden of simples", where the religious cultivated plants used for their medicinal properties. Today one finds notably sage, rosemary, lavender, helichrysum, oregano, borage or mugwort, alongside fig trees, pomegranate trees, mulberry trees, quince trees and other fruit trees.

A restored garden between convent and lagoon

The site had been severely tested by time and by the acqua granda of 12 November 2019, when the tide reached 187 cm in Venice. From 2021, the complex was entrusted to the Venice Gardens Foundation, which undertook the restoration of the garden and also of its old structures: greenhouse, workshops, small meditation chapel, oil mill and rooms linked to beekeeping. An apiary was also re-established.

One of the most characteristic elements is the long pergola arranged according to the symbolic pattern of a cross, an organization already documented at the end of the 17th century. Covered with vines, climbing roses and wisteria, it structures the main paths and leads to a pool placed at the centre of the garden. Further south, a more shaded space forms almost a secret garden on the edge of the lagoon, offering a striking contrast with the monumental façade of the Redentore facing the Giudecca canal.

The garden thus recalls an often forgotten facet of Venice: behind the stone façades there also existed agricultural and convent spaces where part of the food, medicinal plants, oil or honey was produced. In Giudecca, where urbanisation and industrialisation deeply transformed the landscape from the 19th century onwards, the Redentore today preserves one of the most remarkable testimonies to this tradition.

Visit: the garden is now open to the public on regular dates and times, varying according to the season, and no longer only during special openings. Admission is charged. It is recommended to check the opening days and updated times on the Venice Gardens Foundation website before going.

Sources and info

Venice Gardens Foundation – Orto Giardino del Redentore ; Venice Gardens Foundation – botanical restoration and garden composition ; Comune di Venezia – opening to the public of the Hortus Redemptoris.