Hidden ‘Little Italy’ discovered nestled in Welsh jungle with 200 reproduction buildings

A secret paradise swathed in foliage has been spilling its secrets as a team of eager volunteers unearth hundreds of ornate Mediterranean-inspired structures.

The site, affectionately nicknamed “Little Italy” of southern Eryri, has left volunteers gobsmacked with the sheer volume of replica buildings hidden within a tiny woodland. So far, around 200 “objects” have been found a treasure trove that includes not just buildings but also statues, plaques, and an assortment of oddities.

Before the restoration work began a few years ago, a mere 30 structures were in sight. The area is peppered with iconic Italian landmarks from the Duomo of Florence to Venice’s Rialto Bridge.

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Among the newer discoveries are some rather quirky additions: a pint-sized English village, a cat graveyard, and what seems to be a Venetian canal, possibly once home to flowing water.

Each new find only increases the awe for the site’s originators, Mark Bourne and his wife Muriel. Their tribute to Italian architecture, nestled on the outskirts of Corris, between Dolgellau and Machynlleth, is seen as a celebration of their passion, dedication, and inventiveness, reports North Wales Live.

Jonathan Bourne, the site’s vibrant custodian has hit out at those who dare to compare his life’s work to Portmeirion, the famous Italianate resort in North Wales. “I absolutely love this place,” Jonathan declared.

“I don’t like to call it folk art because it’s much more than that. It’s such an important site one of the most important in Wales, far more so than Portmeirion, which had all that money thrown at it.”

Previously managing a caravan park and chicken business, Mr Bourne would frequently jet off to Italy, returning with notebooks filled with architectural inspiration.

He ingeniously recycled old items, from boilers to car parts, using them as frameworks covered in chicken wire for cementing.

For over 25 years, Mr Bourne tirelessly transported countless buckets of water and ballast from the nearby Afon Deri river to mix with cement for his mortar. While a trusty Datsun 4×4 and trailer bore some of the burden, the final leg through his garden relied on nothing but brute strength.

Jonathan is still struggling to comprehend the enormity of the task. “This guy spent 25 years hauling hundreds of tonnes of concrete, water and ballast up a hillside with a gradient that varies from 30 to 45 degrees,” he said.

“How he managed it, I’ve no clue.” he added.

In a bid to safeguard the cottage and gardens, the site was put into a trust prior to the Covid pandemic striking. The trustee, Richard Withers, persuaded family friend Jonathan to oversee the salvage of what locals dub as “Mark’s Folly” because villagers believed the creator was “crazy.”

Jonathan, a former designer and conservationist at Brighton’s Royal Pavilion, had his work cut out in Corris where the site was more jungle than garden, buildings were crumbling, and tree roots threatened to topple foundations. With a band of helpers, they’ve begun reinforcing the site, patching up cracks with lime mortar and leaving their mark for future conservationists.

Jonathan reckons it’ll be a decade before the project is complete.

“At least you can actually walk around the place now,” he said. “You could never do that before.”

The crew unearthed a tiny Italian “street” lined with houses in perfect miniature.

Clues indicated that the street might have been fed by water from a nearby spring. An ecstatic Jonathan said: “I ran down the slope shouting: ‘I’ve found Venice!'”

Yet another surprise was a classic English village concealed under layers of ferns and ivy. It was only months later that the team realised the church and timber-framed thatched cottages were the spitting image of a scene on red Stafford teacups found on a concrete shelf in the garden.

“There are hundreds of objects there at least 200 and there still might be more to be found,” said Jonathan. “But I pretty confident we’ve found most of what he built. At least 95% of the garden has now been uncovered.

“The site is much bigger than we thought it was.”

The site not only features replicas of Italian landmarks but also dedicates over a third of its area to mysterious Renaissance architecture. Among the diverse pathways and exhibits, a Welsh Brick Museum is cleverly integrated into the hillside.

Reflecting on the immense effort required, Jonathan said: “The whole project involved an enormous amount of expertise and grunt. This was the work of an obsessive. There’s so much detail.”

It’s clear from some of the objects that Mark had a playful sense of humour, with nods to Andalucian castles and Arabesque castellations. One structure even housed a life-size female dummy.

Little Italy wasn’t constructed with the intention of drawing in tourists, but Mr Bourne seldom refused them entry. The debate continues as to whether he created his hillside village solely for personal pleasure or to share with others.

Jonathan thinks it was a combination of both and hopes it remains so. “Mark Bourne intended for the site to be visible,” he stated.

“I don’t believe he wanted it concealed. That’s why it was erected on a hillside that was initially visible from the main road below. Motorists would reduce their speed to get a glimpse of it.”

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