The gardens were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and registered as No. Baldassare continued expanding and improving these underground gardens until his death in 1946, using handtools and a pair of mules. Baldassare then began experimenting with growing trees in underground chambers with skylights, and found that with care they would grow well, and being below ground protected them from frost. Finding it effective and comfortable, he carved a series of attached rooms and took up residence there. He was likely influenced by Roman catacombs and wine cellars he had seen in Italy. īaldassare dug a small cellar to escape the summer heat. He found the hardpan soil unsuitable for citrus trees, and the weather punishingly hot during the summer. He immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s after a conflict with his father, and after time on the East Coast purchased land in Fresno. History īaldassare Forestiere ( Italian pronunciation: J– November 10, 1946) was born in the hamlet of Filari, near Rometta on the northeastern tip of Sicily. The gardens are operated by members of the Forestiere family through the Forestiere Historical Center, and can be considered a spectacular and unconventional example of vernacular architecture. The Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno, California are a series of subterranean structures built by Baldassare Forestiere, an immigrant from Sicily, over a period of 40 years from 1906 to his death in 1946.
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