A butterfly dines on colorful food at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
For a new perspective on a familiar place, it can help to bring along a kid or two during another visit.
That’s especially true of the Casa della Farfalle, or House of the Butterflies, in Bordano, Italy. My wife and I went there several years after its 2003 opening.
Hundreds of thousands of people from several countries have walked through the three greenhouse-like structures. Austria, Slovenia and Croatia are all just short drives away, and it’s not much farther from Aviano Air Base, where my two children attend school.
The Casa della Farfalle, or House of the Butterflies, in Bordano, Italy, is a short drive from Aviano Air Base and the borders of Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. It receives plenty of international visitors. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Visitors to the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy, make their way along paths through three separate environments based on where the insects normally dwell: Africa, Asia and the Americas. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
But while the two-legged visitors are somewhat diverse, the creatures housed at the facility are much more so. And many come from places well beyond Europe.
As the name implies, butterflies are the main attraction and they’re housed in three separate areas based on where they normally dwell: Africa, Asia and the Americas.
The emerald swallowtail, also known as the banded peacock, is native to tropical Asia and uses camouflage to protect itself from enemies. This specimen is at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Though this might look like something from a bad horror movie, the moth shown here at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy, actually exists and is native to Costa Rica. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
An owl butterfly at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy, sucks out some fruit nectar. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Sometimes the butterflies and other critters at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy, allow visitors to get really close to take a look or a picture. This king swallowtail was feeling photogenic. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Not all butterflies are colorful and friendly looking as evidenced by this one hanging out at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Don’t expect Disney-like surroundings. The areas are pleasantly filled with various plants for the butterflies and insects to climb or perch on. There are also a few pools for turtles, shelters for other insects or lizards and some glass containers for a few things the center doesn’t want roaming around — and neither do visitors.
The leopard chameleon hails from Madagascar. This one appears to have seen his fill of visitors to the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
The green stick insect, which is native to Thailand, is one of the less vivid residents at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
It's feeding time for this bearded dragon, a native of Australia, at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
This stick insect blends in well with its environment at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
An array of displays precedes the walk to the animal habitats. Some contain insects displayed in rows, similar to what one might see at a local museum or county fair, though they’re a bit more exotic in this case.
Beetles are among the creatures shown in permanent displays at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Displays at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy, can be educational for those who want to learn more about various insects and not just see them in action. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Other displays, in various languages including English, describe how butterflies live in their natural environments, and visitors are very likely to learn something.
Although the place can’t fully replicate the butterflies’ natural environment, opportunities to see a butterfly dining on a piece of fruit may be more prevalent than in their real habitats.
This butterfly, native to Africa, chows down on a slice of fruit at the House of the Butterflies in Bordano, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
And from the butterfly perspective, one can imagine those large, lumbering mammals that sometimes get a bit too close are better to deal with than a hungry bird or spider on the prowl.
On the QT
Hours: Daily, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. between March and October. This year, opening day is March 16.
Price: Admission to the greenhouses is 9.50 euros for adults, 7 euros for senior citizens and kids 4-10, free for kids 3 and under. It costs 12 euros, 11 euros, 10 euros and nothing, respectively, to see a few additional exhibits. Guided tours can be arranged in advance.
Food: There are few options in Bordano, but the choices increase along the SS-13. Udine is about 20 minutes south and boasts plenty of places for a meal.
Information: +39 344 234 5406; Online: bordanofarfalle.it; facebook.com/bordanofarfalle/?locale=it_IT
