Emotional garden

The Emotional Garden

8,000 m² of nature, art, symbols, and landscape, in the wildest heart of Tuscany.

A garden to walk through, not just to look at

The Emotional Garden of the Feather Paths was created around La Gualda Vecchia, following the sinuous lines of the terrain, the existing vegetation, and the history of this place. The idea is to create a place to get lost in, between dynamic linearity and winding paths, in an extraordinary, timeless dimension. A dimension governed by the perfect, karst union of Love and Harmony.

The Emotional Garden is a concept of a garden conceived after years of study by architect Caterina Angela Contu. A place that reveals ancient symbolism and energy centers, created through suggestive geometries and settings represented by the fundamental elements of nature: water, earth, fire, and air.

You walk.

You observe.

Sometimes you stop simply because something has caught your eye.

Among grasses, local stone, water, woods, works of art, and symbolic geometries, each part of the path has its own identity.

A garden that changes as you walk through it

Our desire in creating this garden was to celebrate Beauty in its entirety, in all its facets. Beauty as harmony and grace (cf. St. Augustine), beauty as Truth (John Keats).

We wanted a place to enter.

The path crosses very different environments, always characterized by ancient symbolism and geometries and the primordial elements of nature, such as earth, air, water, and fire. Nothing is left to chance.

The garden is a place to visit in every season. The colors, scents, light, and blooms change. Some essences disappear and others take their place.

That's why no two visits are ever truly the same.

Explore the garden

Map of the Emotional Garden La Gualda Vecchia

Labyrinthine Flowerbeds

This is the first encounter with the Garden.

Seven lines of grasses symbolically echo the seven spirals of ancient labyrinths. Between them emerge three red doors, made from reclaimed ancient farmhouse doors.

They do not indicate a single direction: rather, they speak of the possibility of choice.

When the wind blows through the grasses, their light inflorescences look like feathers. This is where the name Feather Paths comes from.

The Amphitheater

The Amphitheater follows the natural slope of the land.

The seating area integrates into the landscape through corten steel profiles, monoliths recovered on-site, and light floral arrangements that form the natural backdrop to the stage.

It is a space dedicated to creativity: music, words, small performances, gatherings, and shared moments find their place here, open to the sky.

Here we celebrate Art, human creative inspiration, and imagination!

Dry Toilet

Even a seemingly functional space can tell a story of choice.

The garden's ecological toilet uses a dry system that reduces water consumption and is part of our daily effort to inhabit this place with the lightest possible footprint.

Small, essential, and intentionally part of the journey.

The Emotional Path in the Woods

The path enters the young oak grove, gradually leaving behind the more constructed part of the Garden.

Mediterranean scrub, cork oaks, mosses, lichens, roots, and leaves become part of the journey.

Among the trees, small clearings and artistic installations appear, some created by humans, others almost entirely by nature.

Here you will also find AGaia, the site-specific iron artwork by artist Irma Paulon.

The woods continue to transform everything that enters them. And it is precisely this transformation that is part of the artwork.

Yurt in the Woods

Hidden among the oaks, our Mongolian yurt is one of the most intimate spaces on the farm.

It is a true ger, with a circular structure of approximately 50 m² and a diameter of 7.80 meters.

We use it for yoga, meditation, sound baths, rituals, workshops, and group practices.

Inside, wood, fabrics, candles, and practice materials create a cozy space, while the woods remain ever-present through the openings.

The Kingdom of Fire

At the center is fire. A large circular brazier gathers people around the same point, reviving one of the oldest gestures we know: sitting together around a flame. Around it, vegetation in red hues, stone, bamboo, and geometric shapes create a landscape dedicated to energy, conviviality, and meeting. This is also where some of our fire rituals take place.

The Parterre

Before it was the large lawn we see today, this was the ancient threshing floor of the farmstead. It was the place for threshing, work, and shared life. Today, it is one of the most open spaces in the Garden: a large green expanse from which the gaze sweeps across the Val di Cornia, reaches the Metalliferous Hills, and on the clearest days, extends all the way to the Island of Elba. A place made primarily for pausing.

Portal of the Sun

A point of passage and, at the same time, an invitation to change perspective. The Portal of the Sun works with light and orientation, symbolically marking the entrance to a new part of the journey. Passing through it is a simple gesture. But in the Garden, we like even simple gestures to acquire personal meaning.

Kingdom of Flowers

Here, flowers create the landscape. Shapes, scents, and sequences of blooms continuously change the appearance of this part of the Garden, attracting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. It is perhaps one of the places where the passage of seasons becomes most evident. We do not seek a perfect, static bloom: we are interested in observing the entire cycle, from the first sprout to the seed.

Water Square

Overlooking the Val di Cornia, the Water Square is the area we have dedicated to well-being.

A barrel sauna with a panoramic window, a heated tub, and emotional showers, designed by architect Caterina Angela Contu, coexist with papyrus, bamboo, and vegetation.

Here, the SPA moves out of the walls and becomes part of the landscape.

Steam, warm water, the air on your skin, and the surrounding silence transform a wellness treatment into time spent within nature.

Greenhouse

The Greenhouse is a transitional space between cultivation, experimentation, and care.

Here, plants, seeds, and small botanical projects that will accompany the Garden in the following seasons find shelter and new life.

A place that well represents an important aspect of La Gualda Vecchia: behind what blooms, there is always someone sowing, waiting, and taking care.

Ornamental Vegetable Garden

Here, beauty and utility grow together.

Terraces made of local stone host vegetables, fruits, aromatic herbs, edible flowers, bee-friendly plants, old roses, and medicinal herbs.

Inspiration meets the French potager and the ancient hortus conclusus, but the garden primarily follows the seasons and what this land decides to give back to us.

Much of what grows here also ends up on our table.

Dry Garden

An essential landscape, made of stone, shapes, and plants capable of coexisting with little water.

The Dry Garden stems from the idea of working with the climate, rather than against it: drought-resistant species, diverse textures, and vegetation chosen to adapt to Tuscany's increasingly dry summers.

It is a garden that changes the way we look at aridity: not as an absence, but as an opportunity to create beauty with fewer resources.

Little water, much substance, a beauty that profoundly belongs to the Mediterranean landscape.

Atelier / Shop

A small space dedicated to things born here and the hands that create them.

Handcrafted objects, small productions, botanical items, and creations related to the Garden find a place in the Atelier as a natural continuation of the experience.

A Living Garden

The Emotional Garden is never truly finished.

It grows, it changes, it loses something, it welcomes something else.

The plants mature. The woods advance. The works exposed to the elements change with them. New projects are slowly added.

This is perhaps the part we love most.

Beauty here does not equate to perfection.

It equates to balance, care, and the ability to leave nature enough space to continue being nature.

Come discover it

The Garden can be visited independently with our audioguide or through a guided tour, to learn more closely about its history, symbols, plants, artworks, and small details that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Choose how to experience the Garden

Visit with audioguide

€ 15 per person

Take your time.

The audioguide accompanies you through the different areas of the Garden, telling its history, symbols, plants, and some details you might not notice at first glance.

You can stop, go back, sit down, or simply let curiosity guide your path.

Guided tour

€ 25 per person · minimum 2 people
Children under 12 · €15

The tour is accompanied by Bruna, owner of La Gualda Vecchia, and stems primarily from the desire to tell you what is not immediately visible.
The history of the place, how the Garden came to be, the choices that transformed it, its geometries, and its symbols.
We will enter the Mongolian yurt and walk together along the Emotional Path in the Woods and its art squares.
At the end, we will stop for flavored water with herbs from our garden and coffee. You can also visit our small Atelier, where we gather botanical creations, artistic objects, and works by local artisans.

And then you don't have to leave right away.
We will leave you a little more time to return to the part of the Garden you liked best, to read, take photos, sit, or simply do nothing.

For private visits, groups, and personalized experiences, we offer a tailor-made service

More info

Your visit contributes to the Garden

The Garden lives all year round, even on days when no one visits it. Pruning, new plants, water, maintenance of paths and artworks, care of the woods, and daily work hours are all part of its life. The entrance ticket directly contributes to this care and allows us to continue growing the Garden while respecting its balance. That's why everyone who comes to discover it, in some small way, also becomes part of its story.

Before you come

The Garden is open by reservation and on days when weather conditions permit. Accessibility The Garden follows the natural morphology of the terrain and includes steps, forest paths, and some narrow passages. Therefore, the complete route is not easily accessible with wheelchairs and strollers. If you have special needs, please write to us before your visit: we will be happy to discuss together which part of the route might be most suitable.

With your dog

Well-behaved and sociable dogs are welcome and must be kept on a leash during the visit, out of respect for the plants, other visitors, and the animals that live here.

Want to experience the Garden in a different way?

The Garden can also host photo shoots, small private events, and tailor-made experiences. Tell us what you have in mind.

Gallery

How to reach us

Podere La Gualda Vecchia is located in Monteverdi Marittimo, between the Etruscan Coast and the Metalliferous Hills, surrounded by woods and hills a few kilometers from the sea.
By Plane
Pisa International Airport (PSA) – 90 km, about 1h15 by car
Florence Airport (FLR) – 140 km, about 2h by car
Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) – 250 km, about 3h by car
From all airports, you can rent a car or arrange a private transfer.
By Train
Donoratico-Castagneto Carducci station – 25 km
Campiglia Marittima station – 30 km
From the main stations, we recommend a bus, a private transfer, or car rental to reach us comfortably.

By Car
From Pisa: about 1h15 (SS1 Aurelia to Donoratico, then direction Monteverdi Marittimo)
From Florence: about 2h (FI-PI-LI highway to Cecina, then SS1 Aurelia)
From Rome: about 3h (A12 Rome–Civitavecchia, then SS1 Aurelia)
The road leading to La Gualda Vecchia passes through authentic countryside and Mediterranean scrub landscapes: a part of the experience that introduces the tranquility of the place.