Italian Cultural Garden, Cleveland

From East Boulevard, the garden has a broad paved walkway leading to a large piazza with a fountain and a balustrade overlooking the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. The front of the piazza is a backdrop to the amphitheater accessed by a pair of spiral stairs. The front facing the Parkway and Parkgate Ave. has bas-relief heads of Giotto, Michelangelo and Petrarca on the left and Giuseppe Verdi, Leonardo da Vinci and Guglielmo Marconi on the right. Entering the garden, before the piazza, there is a statue of Dante Alighieri to the left. He is seated, with a book and holding a pen. On the base in the front is a quote from the Heaven section of the Divine Comedy. On Dante's right is a quote from Hell and on his left a quote from Purgatory. Sadly the small statues that must have decorated the small alcoves in the base have disappeared. This section of the garden also has a rock from Monte Grappa that memorializes the Ohio soldiers who fell on Italian soil during the First World War. To the right as you enter is a bust of the poet Virgil.

Nice. Well made and beautiful. You can tell it’s landscaped well but a few things are neglected. The stairs covered by trees are super slippery. Gotta be careful there. Also without garbage cans and toilets you can tell others are making their own. Came for a photo session for my daughter. Still beautiful.

Two large winding staircases lead to the lower level amphitheater and a large Renaissance fountain. A large Renaissance fountain modeled after the fountain in the Villa Medici in Rome, Italy sits in the center piazza. A bust of the Roman poet Virgil, also large bronze statue of Dante Alighieri. Year dedicated: 1930

So much beauty and culture tucked away in the Eastside of Cleveland. If you love nature, culture, and history this is definitely a place to visit!

the gardens could use to be kept up a little bit more, & it was hard to find the beginning or where we were supposed to park, but they were very interesting! they are very spread out so there is a lot of walking involved.