They can be vermillion, cerise or coral crimson, salmon or flamingo pink, pure white or even mottled in multicoloured hues. One much sought-after rarity is delicate peach pink. The shapes of their blossom range from single to filled forms, from anemone to rose and peony clusters, with smooth, wavy or fringed petals. But whoever is tempted by such magnificence to lean over and sniff the flower of one of these countless, fabulously beautiful camellia varieties in the hope of inhaling a bewitching fragrance will be disappointed. Camellias don’t smell! Not yet, at any rate, but since the discovery of several fragrant wild varieties over forty years ago people have been tirelessly endeavouring to magic scent into camellia blossom. In isolated cases growers in the US have already reported success…

This is also a highlight each year in March, when in the sumptuous garden of the Villa Nardi, just a few kilometres south of Lucca, the visitors gather round the vast camellia tree of eight metres in diameter. It belongs to the “diamantina” variety and is reportedly the largest and oldest camellia in Lucchesia, allegedly planted in 1771. Just imagine the effect if all these cascades of pink blossom were also scented!

But even without the olfactory intoxication of camellias the gentle hills surrounding the medieval town of Lucca are a joy. Especially when, as everything comes into blossom, the gardens of numerous country estates in the area are opened to the public. On these three pleasantly mild weekends in March visitors get a superb chance to study not only opulent camellia collections but also the Italian way of life. After all, between the 15th and 19th centuries the merchants from Lucchesia channelled their profits not only into the construction of town palaces but also into their grand estates in the surrounding countryside, where they then spent the hot summer months.

It was the same merchants who in the 18th century brought the first camellias to Europe from their indigenous habitat in the Far East. It is said they smuggled them believing they were tea plants, in the vain hope that this would at last allow them to break the Chinese monopoly on tea. Whether it was due to translation problems or Chinese cunning that the shipment they brought back was not the tea plant (C. sinensis) but the rather similar C. japonica, will always be a mystery. But whatever the reason, it’s a nice story. And the fact that tea is simply one particular variety of camellia is still largely unknown.

Quite how the camellia found its way to Lucchesia of all places is also the subject of numerous stories. Fact is, this area offers perfect ground conditions and the right climate for the plant to thrive, and in Italy, particularly in the 19th century, it was deemed quite chic to indulge in the preservation and cultivation of new forms and colours. Some collections comprised hundreds of varieties. Fact is also, however, that later on people even tried to grow tea.

In recent decades this fervour has undergone a renaissance. The camellia festival in Lucchesia is an expression of this enthusiasm. Here new strains are presented, stalls sell merchandise and discussions are held, accompanied by concerts and garden tours, as well as tea tastings – including an authentic Japanese tea ceremony.

Further information in Italian and English: www.camelielucchesia.it