MAY 26, 2011
St. Petersburg is hosting the “Imperial Gardens of Russia” Festival for the fourth time this year. The three previous festivals have become the highlight events in the cultural life of the city and attracted the attention of St Petersburgers to the numerous traditional activities of the festival life. The Mikhailovsky Garden of the Russian Museum, the main venue of festival, has become not only the recreation spot but also the place where one could witness and partake in various creative actions.
The year 2011 has been proclaimed the Year of Italy in Russia. This fact has specified and determined the theme of the festival and that of the exhibition-contest: “Italian Midday”. The striking and easily recognizable image of Italy is a keynote of the festival program events, which will reveal the peculiar Italian style in Russian park and gardening art.
Prince Michael of Kent arrived in St. Petersburg ahead of the opening of the festival to participate in a campaign to revitalize a Russian tradition – the planting of oak trees in the square near the house where Peter I lived. In the 19th century members of the royal family participated in the planting of trees here. His Royal Highness brought with him not only the sapling but also the soil in which the sapling was grown. Prince Michael said that he hoped the tree will take up firm roots in its new location and that the tradition of planting oak trees will become another brand of the festival.