The Society of the Garden is a gentlemen's club in Milan founded in 1783 with headquarters in Palazzo Spinola.
In addition to offering the usual activities for gentlemen's clubs, the Society of the Garden is famous for its fencing school, founded in 1882, one of the oldest and most prestigious in Italy.
Società del Giardino History
The Società del Giardino was founded in 1783 by a group of thirty-two Milanese citizens under the guidance of the Founding Member and first President, Francesco Bolchini.
At that time, Emperor Joseph II, son of Maria Theresa of Austria, reigned in Milan. Milan was still surrounded by the canals and enclosed by the Spanish walls.
At the beginning, the club had intentions of recreation and recreation, over time taking on an increasingly cultural and institutional connotation. The Society of the Garden is a strictly apolitical circle.
Many protagonists of Italian and international history have passed through the halls of the Society of the Garden such as kings, emperors, prime ministers, statesmen, cardinals, Nobel laureates, men of science, art and culture.
Relations with the Diplomatic Corps, with the Armed Forces and with cultural institutions mean that the Garden Society is today a point of reference for the city of Milan and an important cultural institution of the Milanese tradition.
The Society of the Garden is one of the ten oldest clubs in the world that has always been in business since its establishment (the only closing period was from February 26 to March 10, 1853, following the Milan uprising of 6 February of that year).