The Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelite Friars for experiencing greenery in Venice

The Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelite Friars, one of the oldest vineyards of the Serenissima, returns to being the preferred location for the cultivation of lemon balm

In the ancient Brolo degli Scalzi a spiritual garden is preserved where lemon balm is cultivated and the Consorzio Vini Venezia is bringing back to life one of the oldest vineyards of the Serenissima.

The intent of the Mystical Garden is to safeguard the biodiversity of the lagoon’s viticultural heritage by creating a genetic database of vine varieties that have been present for hundreds of years between Venice and the lagoon, and to make the garden accessible through guided tours with free admission.

The guides are trained by the Discalced Carmelite Friars following a path inspired by the History of the Carmelite Order, in harmony with the human and spiritual journey of the order’s foundress: Saint Teresa of Ávila.

The Mystical Garden project is organized into seven flower beds, which also include the tradition of lemon balm cultivation. Seven flower beds like the seven mansions of the Interior Castle of Saint Teresa of Ávila, a book written by the scholar in 1577, oriented toward a fullness of life, love, peace, and communion with God.

The first flower bed is a green lawn, which evokes fullness, the possibility of conversing, of playing. The second flower bed is the Garden of medicinal herbs, which represent the purification of the body to reach God. Here the lemon balm is planted with which the friars produce the renowned Melissa Water.

In the third flower bed, symbol of the Trinity, there is the Food Garden, where vegetables and greens are cultivated. A vineyard covers the fourth flower bed, where 17 rows are planted (7 + 10 like the sacraments and commandments).

The orchard of lost flavors in the fifth flower bed is an invitation to generosity. The olive grove represents friendship and is the place of Jesus’s last great temptation and the beginning of his Passion.

The seventh flower bed symbolizes the forest, where large trees are present, comparable to the chaos outside the Castle, where one is still far from God but called to reach the central chamber.

At the center of the Mystical Garden of the Carmelite Friars is the pomegranate, the tree of many meanings. In the Mystical Garden it evokes spousal love, as described in the Song of Songs and symbol of Christ’s Resurrection and the sacraments as described in the Spiritual Canticle of Saint John of the Cross, the first Discalced Carmelite.

And upon returning to the garden entrance, what Teresa recommended in the epilogue (the last page written) is fulfilled, namely to be free to visit the rooms of the castle, to wander and read the pages to appreciate the richness and beauty of this edifice that is the person.

The Order of Discalced Carmelites was founded in 1200 on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Palestine. In the mid-13th century, driven out by the Saracen invasion, they arrived in Europe. In 1562 Saint Teresa of Ávila founded the monastery of Saint Joseph, a small religious community of Discalced Carmelite nuns. Thanks to Saint John of the Cross, the reform also involved the male Order.

Since 1710 the Discalced Carmelite Fathers of Venice have been distilling, according to the ancient method, Melissa Water, an herbal product based on lemon balm native to the Carpathians. It was a Carmelite father who discovered its virtues, also mentioned by Carlo Goldoni in “La locandiera”.

The images have been kindly provided by the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelite Friars