The Giusti Garden in Verona, Italy

You'd be hard-pressed to find a classic Italian garden more beautiful than the Giusti Garden in Verona Italy, just a short walk from the city center. Verona's most visited site is probably Juliet's balcony from Romeo & Juliet -- a tourist trap if ever there were one. (Juliet never existed and the balcony never existed until the city chose one!)

Snow White looking for
her Prince Charming.

But this garden? It's no trap. Its' a genuine Renaissance garden, built in 1580, with terraces up the side of a hill, a hedge maze, parterres, a belvedere (overlook), greenhouse, and classic statuary.

As you can see from the photos there was not a lot of color in the garden - who needs it when you have this to look at every day? The day we were there, a professional photographer and models dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming were being photographed. What a perfect backdrop for a fairy tale photo shoot.

It is said that garden design, originally, was spiritually inspired to represent heaven on earth. If heaven looked like this, I would not be disappointed. Then again, I'm trying to make my own back yard into my own little version of heaven -- and it looks nothing like this!

After 400-plus years, your fountain tends to develop
more character, charm, and slime.

Love a good parterre maze. Almost lost my wife forever in this one.

The light in this garden in the late afternoon was stunning. Almost wish we could have seen it later when the sun was a bit lower.

The view of Verona, Italy from the upper-most terrace.

It's about the meanest-looking belvedere we've ever seen.