The new Italian display at Bellagio Conservatory is like a vacation from your vacation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBellagio’s Conservatory rarely disappoints, but it’s great to see an all-new display.<\/p>\n
As always, Bellagio’s Conservatory is a free attraction and remains one of the best free things to do in all of Las Vegas.<\/p>\nBellagio’s horticulture teams has pulled out all the stops for this first-time display. Bellissima, as the kids say.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBellagio’s new Italian display, which runs through Sep. 9, 2017, covers a lot of ground, with water features, colorful villas and a metric ass-ton of flowers, of course. \nIMG<\/p>\n
Guests enter the vibrant new exhibit through a 26-foot archway. Inside, there’s an eight-foot fountain.<\/p>\nThis is a wonderful place to freshen up, as well as to meet some helpful Bellagio security guards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nNearby is a 22-foot moss-covered fountain that pays tribute to the Fontana dell’Ovato located in Villa d’Este, a 16th century residence in Tivoli.<\/p>\n
In case there was any doubt, we knew all that off the top of our head and definitely did not copy and paste it from a news release.<\/p>\nVilla d’Este is a 16th-century villa near Rome and Fontana dell’Ovato means “oval fountains.” Look at you, inadvertently learning things from a Las Vegas blog.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe eight-foot plate, showing an Italian village, is made of lentils, something we never would have known was a thing except for our enduring love of a 1980’s British sitcom, “The Young Ones.” You bet it’s random.<\/p>\nIn Greece or Turkey, this would be broken by now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIn the north section of the Conservatory, there’s water streaming from lion and monkey sculptures, as well as four lemon topiaries, whatever those might be.<\/p>\nBellagio’s horticulture department employs nearly 160 people, all of them with a greener thumb than we’ll ever have.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe lemon topiaries are made of about 1,400 flowers.<\/p>\n“Topiary” comes from the Latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener, “topiarius,” a creator of topia. No, really.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe centerpiece of this seasonal display is a miniature village with 50 villas, each with a terrace.<\/p>\nYou can’t spell “Bellagio” without “bella.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThere’s a bell tower, unbrellas, boats and other flourishes like a 50-foot lemon tree and “Lover’s Rock.”<\/p>\nUmbrellas were once called “bumbershoots.” Yeah, we’re spending way too much time on Wikipedia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOverhead, there’s a sun and moon, each 16 feet tall.<\/p>\nEvery guy in every bar in Las Vegas with sports on. Dude, priorities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe entire Italian display uses an incredible 57,000 flowers and 560 shrubs. Shrubs never get any of the glory at Bellagio’s Conservatory. While they play a supporting role, without shrubs, the Conservatory would be like “Goodfellas” without Joe Pesci or “Jaws” with Robert Shaw.<\/p>\n
Shrubs should really look into getting a better P.R. agency.<\/p>\nYou can find this piece in the back of the Conservatory. We’d say this was a clever promotion for the Mayweather-McGregor fight, but it was in the works long before the fight was announced.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens are a must-do in Las Vegas, and the first-time Italian display makes it a must-do all over again.<\/p>\n