2018 contest – «Eroticism in the garden»

Gardens have always been particularly well suited to romance and passion. In centuries past, they were a frequent spot for amorous encounters among the nobility and upper classes.

Since antiquity, gardens have been linked to the concepts of love, eroticism and frenzied passion between gods and humans. During the Baroque, gardens were impregnated with sensuality and made into spaces for play, flirtation, strolls and pleasure. Garden mazes have, with the passage of time, acquired a sexual charge that becomes increasingly more evident. During the Age of Enlightenment, they came to be linked to eroticism and sexual games. This led to protests by the clergy, who managed to close mazes like the one in the gardens of Versailles. The reason, according to their complaint, was “the indecorous activities in which couples were engaging inside”.

Gardens with mazes, fountains, flower beds and evocative floral aromas are the ideal place for seduction. Gardens can foster intimacy, trust, losing oneself, fulfilling fantasies, sensuality, courtship and the desire for a meeting between lovers.

Cinema, literature and theatre are unable to escape the attraction of recreating stories of love, passion, sensuality and eroticism, using gardens as their setting.

Proposals Presentation

You can see below all the information available in different languages about regulations and information of interest to take part in each edition.