Orticolario 2026 / en rêverie

Orticolario 2026_en reverie_

Orticolario 2026 / en rêverie Beyond Wonder: A Collective Dream

MILANO, ITALY, October 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Orticolario en rêverie, the international event celebrating nature in all its forms—unveils returns its sixteenth edition. From October 1–4 at Villa Erba on Lake Como, dedicated to promoting landscape culture, also as a social mission.

I had a dream.
A place I had never seen before, yet one that had always been there:
in the infinite space behind my eyelids.

Cernobbio, October 2026 – Beyond the tangible dimension. An invitation to close your eyes and observe what lies behind your eyelids, suspended in a dreamlike space. Entering the realm of the fantastic, where the rules of reality are overturned.
Following the pursuit of wonder that defined the 2025 edition, Orticolario’s journey, scheduled from October 1–4 at Villa Erba on Lake Como, evolves and rises toward a different dimension: that of dreams, illusion, and imagination. No longer simply the desire to discover, but the ability to generate—to shape with the mind what does not yet exist, giving form to infinite possible worlds. At the heart of this surreal dimension: fantastical plants.

A DISTINCTIVE IDENTITY_
For four days, the historic park and exhibition center of the nineteenth-century villa overlooking the lake will host more than 250 carefully selected Italian and international exhibitors, united in their commitment to fostering a deeper awareness of landscape culture. Rare, unusual, and collectible plants, alongside artisanal objects and original creations, celebrate a nature that becomes art and craftsmanship in an exclusive setting. Seven thematic gardens selected through the international Creative Spaces competition (whose winner receives the Foglia d’oro del Lago di Como award) and seven site-specific installations inspired by the year’s theme provide the backdrop for a rich cultural program featuring experts, landscape architects, agronomists, and visionaries. Performances, experiences, and workshops will also engage children and young people through activities designed especially for them.

2026 COORDINATES_
Not the literal dream (somnium in Latin, from somnus: sleep)—the experience that unfolds in the silence of the night, when the body rests and the mind drifts through unexpected images.
En rêverie is something subtler. It derives from the old French rêver, meaning to wander, to drift, to step outside reality. It is not sleep, but the movement of the mind. Not surrender, but exploration. A suspended state in which thought is freed, loses itself and finds itself again, giving shape to images that belong neither to day nor to night.
Imagining worlds beyond the threshold of reality is the guiding principle behind Hypnos, a project by Mario Mariani / Central Park and Matteo Boccardo, realized with the support of Fondazione Banca Popolare di Milano in the event’s central pavilion, its cultural and conceptual heart.

Inspiring the surreal landscape of en rêverie are fantastical plants.
At the center of the sixteenth edition are plant species that, through their forms, colors, or peculiar characteristics, seem to come from another world. Strange, almost alien plants that astonish with atypical morphologies, rare evolutionary strategies, and unexpected survival mechanisms are the protagonists of Phantasos, a botanical installation by Mario Mariani / Central Park and Matteo Boccardo.
Among the iconic places of this edition, art once again takes over the atrium of Villa Erba with Les imaginaires. Not an exhibition about nature, but a poetic transfiguration of it, entrusted to the visionary eye of artist Lau Cabantous and the scientific and cultural depth of ethnobotanist Lucia Papponi, with the support of Taroni.

GUEST OF HONOR_
The guest of honor for Orticolario 2026 is Luigi Serafini, artist, architect, and creator of the renowned Codex Seraphinianus. An internationally celebrated cult book, the Codex defies every encyclopedic convention, presenting—in an indecipherable language—organisms, architectures, and botanical forms that do not exist. Every illustration is accompanied by texts and captions written in asemic script: a form of writing devoid of semantic meaning, yet structured according to precise syntactic rules. Leafing through the Codex is a pause from understanding, a tribute to the power of imagination and to mystery as a tool for knowledge.

Following Michele De Lucchi and Antonia Klugmann, Orticolario turns its focus to Luigi Serafini and the arts, reinforcing its interdisciplinary identity. The goal is for every edition to become a source of inspiration across different worlds, encouraging a 360-degree perception that moves across disciplines, sensibilities, and languages: from vision to taste, introspection to design, contemplation to experience.

THE FOUNDATION_
Some projects begin as events and, over time, become shared cultural heritage. Initiatives capable of moving beyond the dimension of an annual appointment to become cultural, social, and territorial landmarks. This is the path Orticolario has taken. After nearly two decades of continuous growth, through the vision of founder and president Moritz Mantero, Fondazione Orticolario E.T.S. was established. The Foundation provides the most effective means of ensuring continuity for a vision while projecting it into the future, preserving its founding spirit while welcoming new energies. It is a choice aimed at strengthening what has been built and expanding the network of responsibilities and opportunities. It reflects Orticolario’s evolution into a permanent cultural platform capable of generating shared value far beyond the days of the event itself.

ORTICOLARIO AT A GLANCE_
1–4 October 2026 / Villa Erba, Cernobbio (CO), Lake Como
Visitor Information:
Tel. +39 031 3347503
Email: info@orticolario.it
Website: www.orticolario.it
Facebook: facebook.com/Orticolario
Instagram: instagram.com/orticolariocomo
YouTube: Orticolario
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