Events

A weekend to get together, create and share. On Friday 9th, Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th October, ‘Horti in Autunno’ returns – a community festival featuring a host of initiatives that will benefit both us and our planet. There’ll be art and reading workshops, the Farmers’ Market with autumn produce, the Swap Party, the ‘Che io veda’ photography exhibition, tango lessons with I Satelliti, the first open-air cinema at the Horti, and a walk in the footsteps of St Francis.

We’ll be sharing the full programme with you soon. In the meantime, make a note of the dates in your diary! Download the complete programme

It wouldn’t be Community Sunday without the Swap Party. By now, you’re all familiar with our regular event, organised in partnership with Sfuso Diffuso, which attracts hundreds of participants.

The swap party involves exchanging clothes, shoes and bags, but above all, it’s an opportunity to do something good for our planet. Join us for this event dedicated to the circular economy and sustainability. Free entry.

Among the new features for the festive season, the park will host ‘Filmini a Sorpresa’ for the first time – a project launched in 2023 out of a love for cinema and a desire to restore its more communal aspect. On Saturday at 8.00 pm, we’ll meet at the San Marco archaeological site on Monte Bertone for an open-air cinema experience waiting to be discovered. For one evening, the audience will set aside film titles, trailers and expectations, allowing themselves to be guided by curiosity and the joy of discovery. We’ll just let you know in advance that it will be a film in its original language with subtitles.

And as autumn brings cooler temperatures, especially in the evenings, we’d advise you to wrap up a bit warmer. To warm yourselves up, you can also order something hot from Horti Bistrò to enjoy during the screening. Sign up at the link.

Migration is a reality of our times, fuelled by climate crises, geopolitical tensions and inequalities. But to what extent do the media influence our perception of migration and security? The discussion begins by examining the gap between polarised views and the reality revealed by the data, in order to explore the phenomenon beyond mere slogans.

Speakers include Debora Piazza, a criminal lawyer, and Eleonora Camilli, a journalist at La Stampa; the discussion will be moderated by Laura Carrer of IrpiMedia. Register at the link

Horti Aperti returns on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September. The theme of the fifth edition of the City Green Festival will be ‘Art and Craft. The intelligent garden, designed with passion and tended with care’. Alongside the exhibition and market dedicated to sustainable gardening, there will be a packed programme of talks, discussions, workshops and hands-on sessions. The cultural programme will complement the selection of the finest Italian nursery growers and producers, creating an immersive experience.

The open-air concert by the Almo Collegio Borromeo orchestra will also return, as will guided tours of the Collegio and Horti, exploring their history and art, with a focus on the gardens themselves. Our collaboration with the Feltrinelli Foundation will also continue: on Sunday 20th, we will host the second edition of L’isolachenonc’è, a day of readings, workshops and performances for children.

Learn more

To mark Horti’s third Community Sunday, on 21 June, we celebrated the arrival of summer with our usual farmers’ market, featuring Alveare che dice sì Pavia, the Balançin Social Cooperative, Acli Terra, Coldiretti Pavia and Orto del noi, a yoga masterclass led by The Yoga Effect and Elève, and a mending workshop with Marta Ricchiardi (Rapazebù), who transformed a simple act into a reflection on consumption, care and the value of things. 

After a convivial lunch at Horti Bistrò, we swapped clothes and smiles at the Swap Party with Sfuso Diffuso and unveiled the artwork ‘Origine’, by artist Maria Cristina Carlini: a magnificent sculpture comprising seven stoneware columns, in harmony with Horti’s natural surroundings. The day’s celebrations concluded with the return of the Horti Poetry Slam.

Watch the video