There are gardens – and there are wonders. The Parco Scherrer in Morcote, on the glittering shores of Lake Lugano, is both at once: a place of wonder, a botanical poem, a stroll through millennia and across continents. Those who enter it leave Switzerland behind and become part of a vision – that of a man who captured his dreams not on canvas, but in stone, marble, cypresses, and magnolias: Arturo Scherrer, a traveling dreamer, a worldly aesthete, a man who wanted to build the Garden of Eden in terraces – and did so.
The Magic Garden of a Cosmopolitan
Arturo Scherrer was no ordinary collector. At heart, he was a romantic, a passionate storyteller who told stories not with words, but with buildings, plants, and perspectives. His garden, affectionately called "Il Giardino delle Meraviglie," is a manifesto of this love of the world. Whether Greek temples, Indian palaces, Egyptian mysteries, or Arabian dreams—everything comes together here, nestled in subtropical vegetation that is unparalleled in Switzerland.
A walk through times and civilizations
The entrance itself heralds what's to come, like a curtain on a stage: Venetian fountains, Byzantine lions, baroque marble statues from Carrara – flanked by azaleas and blooming camellias. You climb a staircase, past symbols of commerce, wisdom, and the seasons, and suddenly find yourself before a Temple of Eros, a cedar of Lebanon, a 13th-century Greek anfora – and wonder if you're walking in a dream.
Perched on a hill overlooking the lake, the panorama opens up: the Alps behind them, Ceresio at their feet, and Venus watches between two Egyptian sphinxes, while Juno and Jupiter lose themselves in thought beneath azaleas. Then, almost shyly, the Erechtheion comes into view – a 1:4 replica of the Acropolis temple, complete with caryatids, carved from Vicenza stone. Greece, framed by the Ticino sky.
Where elephants dance and gods rest
A little further on, a bamboo grove leads to the Orient: a Siamese tearoom evokes distant temple ceremonies. Then, in sacred silence, rises the Temple of Nefertiti, guarded by Sekhmet and Horus, painted in ancient Egyptian colors, and inside: a faithful replica of the famous bust of the queen. Here also rest the urns of Arturo and Amalia Scherrer – a quiet, dignified conclusion to their earthly dream.
But the journey doesn't end there. Suddenly, you find yourself amidst Indian mysticism: a palace modeled on the Palazzo Salò, painted in the Mughal style, guarded by four elephants with raised trunks, flanked by cobra statues, and surmounted by the sacred cow of Mysore. Water ripples, bamboo rustles, and somewhere a dragonfly buzzes among the lotus blossoms of the small pond, at the edge of which sits a Chinese tortoise carved in stone—a symbol of longevity.
Love for Ticino, stone by stone
At the end of this surreal walk stands – almost down-to-earth – a lovingly reconstructed 14th-century Lombard-Ticino farmhouse. Arturo Scherrer had it built as a tribute to his adopted home. A grotto where people eat, laugh, and continue to dream.
A garden that tells stories
Parco Scherrer is not just a botanical treasure with over fifty labeled plant species—from palm trees to wisteria to fragrant citrus trees. It is a work of art, a sensory delight, a place of contemplation and wonder. Since 1965, it has belonged to the municipality of Morcote, a gift from Amalia Scherrer, who asked that this paradise be preserved and made accessible to all.
Today it is part of the renowned “Grandi Giardini Italiani”, and its imaginative reconstructions of Baroque, Rococo and Art Nouveau styles make it a jewel among the so-called “Follies Gardens” – gardens where architecture and longing meet.
