From 17 May to 7 December 2025, Giarre (CT) sees the return of the Radicepura Garden Festival, the biennial international event dedicated to garden design and Mediterranean landscape architecture.
The theme of this fifth edition is Chaos (and) Order in the Garden, chosen by Artistic Director Antonio Perazzi: “The selected projects all explore this theme: out of chaos, nature is reborn and ideas are organised. At this stage in history, gardens straddle the line between natural and artificial, and the projects that will come to life here embrace nature’s slow rhythms, revealing the possibility of creating wonder and amazement, and encouraging development without rigid design rules – a way of respecting the environment and the underlying ecosystems that are thus able to coexist,” says Perazzi.
The festival presents ten gardens – eight of which are in competition, and two as Off Gardens – designed by international teams of architects and landscape designers under the age of 36. Selected through an international call to tender, they have interpreted the competition’s theme.
This is a unique opportunity for nature, culture and design to converse, and Luce&Light is providing the lighting for five of the eight competing gardens in the Radicepura Horticultural Park. The company’s technical and narrative contribution enhances the different landscape concepts with discreet, precise lighting that is consistent with the identity of each project.
From the visual poetry of Echoes to the symbolic intensity of Il Miracolo di Quasimodo, from the rich vegetation of The Rambunctious to the material language of Giardino di Terra, each project brings sensitivity and vision to an exploration of the dynamic balance between chaos and order in the contemporary landscape.
Echoes
Landscape architect Caludio Bussei
In this garden of remembered pasts, a mosaic-like path in volcanic concrete and local porcelain represents fragmented memory. Interactive stones stimulate the formation of new memories, while a boulder symbolises obstacles, forcing visitors to deviate from their path. Visitors are guided by light from Reiko fixtures, with wide, grazing beams along the paths, sharp optics for the interactive elements and narrow beams for the trees at the rear of the garden.
The Rambunctious Garden
Team neemaee, made up of architects Parita Jani and Urvish Bhatt
The Rambunctious Garden celebrates nature’s irregularity, with green and brightly coloured plants arranged fluidly and spontaneously. The vegetation evolves with the seasons, symbolising the ever-changing nature of artistic expression. Plin round lights, in different heights, illuminate the paths and greenery, harmonising with the art and natural shapes in the garden.
Il miracolo di Quasimodo
Architects Carlo Federico and Franco Enrico Serra
Inspired by the poetry of Salvatore Quasimodo, the project features twin, opposing gardens that evoke the duality between life and death. In one, Sicilian coastal plants, lit by Rio RGBW in warm, saturated tones, represent life; in the other, pieces of driftwood, accentuated by Ginko 2.0 with sharp optics and cool light, create an intense and dramatic atmosphere.
Giardino di terra
Independent architect Vincent Dumay, and architect and landscape designer Baptiste Wullschleger
Raw earth structures and spontaneous vegetation shape a garden that reflects on human fragility and the regenerative power of nature. The columns, destined to erode, emerge like contemporary ruins, illuminated by Reiko with a grazing light. The paths are marked by single- and double-headed Pivot B posts.
Mira
Architects Monica Torrisi and Giada Straci
A wild garden of native plants from the Mediterranean scrubland can be seen through a perforated wall that filters the view and guides the eye. There are two distinct areas: one orderly, lit by white Pivot B fixtures that also illuminate the captions beneath the cut-out frames, and the other chaotic, where Pivot B fixtures in corten blend harmoniously with the vegetation.
Each lighting solution was designed ad hoc, choosing optics, colour temperatures and installation systems in line with the specific narrative and environmental requirements.
We look forward to seeing you at the Radicepura Horticultural Park, Giarre (CT), Sicily, from 17 May to 7 December 2025.
