Nuoro, Palazzo Asproni's historic garden

Historical Garden of Palazzo Asproni. Photo by Angela Nieddu, 2025, from Catalogo BBCC

The garden belongs to the Palazzo Asproni complex, the nineteenth-century residence of the Asproni family, linked to the figure of the Nuoro intellectual and politician Giorgio Asproni. In 1921 the building was donated to the Municipality of Nuoro by Giorgio Asproni's nephew with the obligation to preserve its memory and allocate it to public functions. Subsequently, the complex was adapted as a school building and, since 2002, it houses the National Archaeological Museum of Nuoro. There is no information available regarding the original plant of the garden or its vegetational composition. However, it is likely that the space, since the nineteenth century, performed functions relevant to the residence, configuring itself as a garden serving the building. Palazzo Asproni, with its adjoining garden, is located in the historic center of Nuoro. The green space is configured as a single private garden, completely fenced and accessible from the ground floor of the museum, as well as from two external entrances. The building is separated from the garden by a path that is accessed through a raised gate of three steps. The space is divided into two sectors, divided by a low transverse wall with a second gate in the center. Overall, the area looks like a large continuous meadow, on which tree and shrub vegetation is rarely distributed. Stretches of bay hedges and a lemon border alternate along the perimeter. In the center, in a sparse position, there is a myrtle hedge arranged in a circle and small groups of helichrysum and camedrio shrubs. Among the tree species there are a loquat, a recently planted specimen of oak and a palm tree, the only survivor of the group that existed until a few years ago.

Consult the Catalogue of Cultural Heritage — Historical Garden Card of Palazzo Asproni NCTN 2000253065

Interesting aspects
Garden pertaining to the nineteenth-century residence of the Nuoro politician Giorgio Asproni, now home to the National Archaeological Museum located in the historic center of Nuoro. It looks like a large continuous lawn with sparse tree and shrub vegetation that creates a balanced game between full and empty spaces, in which the non-symmetrical arrangement of the vegetation is enhanced by the clarity of the grass surfaces and the regularity of the constructed margins.