Safeguard and Valorisation of the Productive Areas in Historical Gardens

Since the origin of their employment, fruit trees have been used as ornamental plants in different typology of gardens. Brolo, verziere, pomario, hortus are just examples of elements of gardens and parks in which fruit trees are the main constitutive traits. Historical gardens may represent oases of historical fruit plants or even historical fruit tree orchards. In fact, owing to their confined and preserved nature, they represent in comparison to the rural areas more suitable places for conservation of fruit tree germplasm and traditional cultivation systems becoming, therefore, hotspots of biodiversity and sites in which botanical, ecological, cultural, historical and aesthetic values can meet. The aim of the study was to asses the value of some specimens in the productive area, i.e. the pomario, of the renascence garden of Palazzo Giustiniani Odescalchi in Bassano Romano (VT), Italy. It has been applied an integrated analysis that has considered above all the biological value of the unique varieties of residual fruit trees. The applied methodology has allowed recognizing the relevance of the preservation of this productive area, which represents the complexity and added value of the garden.