The sweeping power of horticulture

This chapter illustrates the role of flowers in Paduan culture, politics, and the economy. During the first half of the nineteenth century, the interest in plants of many prominent figures in the city’s social and intellectual elite was more than a temporary fashion or a social convention, but an expression of a long-standing tradition. A focus on the floral exhibitions of the late 1840s highlights a love for plants, but also several significant socio-political features and trends of the time. Even more than the Gardening Society, the Festival of Flowers transgressed regional, social, and gender boundaries. It saw the active participation of many women and of plant lovers from other provinces and regions. The attendance of many Austrian officials together with their wives suggests a close relationship between Veneto’s social elite and the subjects of ‘flower emperor’ Francis I. On the other hand, the growing number of participants from the lower classes reveals that important social and economic changes were underway. Flowers ceased to be objects by means of which the nobility set itself apart. In addition, the increasing attraction of flowers created new markets, which were readily supplied by a growing number of floricultural industries.