Boasting some of Mother Nature’s finest masterpieces, from floral parterres to regional and national parks, Lombardy is truly an open-air museum. Fresh air in the parks feed the soul, while local tales delight in front of the fireplace. Among the great landscapes of the Stelvio National Park are some of the most adored climbs for cyclists and meadows enticing hikers from around the world. Warm light falls over the morainic hills and the bogs visited by the storks along the Mincio within the park of the same name.

Whether we’re talking about the Grigna, Adda, Alto Garda, Groane, Campo dei Fiori, Bergamasque Alps, Valle del Ticino, or the Rose Garden in Monza’s Villa Reale, the parks of Lombardy hit all the right notes. Spread out over a great ring, parks become the red thread connecting a slow, eco-friendly, or sportive journey through the region. A bridge connecting the intangible and the raw earth beneath your feet.

Italian gardens accompany the estates at Villa Melzi d’Eril, Villa Carlotta, and Villa del Balbianello. Here in the region of green, natural oases double as center stage for concerts, philosophical debates, art installations, and dance performances.