La Mortella (The Myrtle), one of the jewels of Ischia, was the home of an English composer, Sir William Walton, and his Argentinian wife, Lady Susana Walton. After World War Two, They moved to Ischia where until 1956 they lived for 6 months a year in their fascinating home , attracting there star celebrities, such as Sir Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and Maria Callas and so on.
Then the couple decided to buy their new property at La Mortella and called landscape expert, Russell Page, who transformed the stone quarry on a volcanic hill into a tropical garden paradise with rare and exotic trees, plants and flowers.
Susana Walton opened the doors to the public in 1991, while Sir William Walton continued his work as one of the most important classical composers of his time, and it is to this that the foundation is still able to stage two seasons of chamber music concerts, one in the spring and another in the autumn where budding musicians from Italy and across the world perform around 70 concerts every year. In the open-air Greek theatre throughout the summer, audiences are able to enjoy the Youth Orchestra concerts while surrounded by China roses and aromatic herbs.
Sadly, both Sir William Walton (1902-1983) and Lady Susana Walton (1926-2010) have now both passed away, but There are memorials to both of them in the garden: an inscribed stone memorial that holds the ashes of the composer, and some video and a beautiful area that commemorates the life of Susa
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