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Villa Lante: Touring Italian Gardens

Villa Lante Pegasus Photo © Alice Joyce

The elements of a Renaissance garden come together in a poetic harmony at Villa Lante, northeast of Rome in the village of Bagnaia. A trove of books can open one’s eyes to the art of… Italian Gardens .. Amazon

River Gods Fountain Photo © Alice Joyce

Often quoted author of Italian Villas and Their Gardens, the novelist Edith Wharton found the setting to be a magical place when she visited in 1903. The survival of these gardens is commendable, as so many of the period have now vanished. Attributed to the great Mannerist architect, Vignola, Villa Lante began as the dream of Cardinal Gambara in the 16th century. The conversion of a hunting preserve became the glorious landscaped grounds we see today. Cardinal Peretti-Montalto tales credit for the creation of the central Fountain of the Moors.

Villa Lante Parterre Overview Photo © Alice Joyce

Italian gardens are dense with greenery and Villa Lante is no exception. Italian cypress trees and hedges provide shade, while the living plant material provides visual delights in the form of boxwood sculpted into elaborately patterned parterres.

Taking full advantage of the steep site, the gardens are set into a series of terraces carved into the hillside, where stonework staircases lead visitors to discover surprisingly sensual water features, sculptures, and grottoes. Distant views, too, are an integral part of the garden’s geometrical arrangement, built upon a longitudinal axis.

A side note: On this journey, I used a wonderful car service for two major segments of the journey. Barbara Galli, my English-speaking contact provided advice, dependable drivers and extremely comfortable vehicles. Here’s a link to the web site in case you’re looking for a driver, transfers or touring in Italy: Roma Transfer

Villa Lante Cascade Photo © Alice Joyce

Water feature representing an elongated crayfish or gambaro, exalting Cardinal Gambara.

Countless scholars and garden historians have mused that Villa Lante embodies the ideal of perfection associated with the guiding design principles of the Renaissance, in its symmetry and overall proportions.

Fontana dei Mori - Fountain of the Moors Photo © Alice Joyce

Although it may not be possible to sip a glass of wine at the Cardinal’s Table [below] when visiting Villa Lante, you’ll be transported to another era if you allow your imagination to take hold.

Villa Lante Stone Table Photo © Alice Joyce

Villa Adriana: Hadrian's Villa

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Hadrian's Villa Photo © Alice Joyce

Outside Rome, a bit southwest of the town of Tivoli in Lazio Province, the monumental Roman ruins of Villa Adriana stand as a testament to the ambitions and fancies of Emperor Hadrian. Based upon the emperor’s design and built in the 2nd century A.D., the villa site presents a remarkable fusion of ostentatious architecture – a vast complex of buildings and thermal baths – cradled within hundreds of acres of green terrain.

Italian Gardens .. Amazon

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Hadrian's Villa - Canopus Photo © Alice Joyce

The Canopus

In what remains of the Emperor’s extravagant retreat, once impeccable garden settings demonstrate the influences of Greek and Egyptian art, especially the preserved area of the Canopus; its name taken from an Egyptian city.

Hadrian's Villa Statuary Reflected Photo © Alice Joyce

Hadrians Villa Architecture Photo © Alice Joyce

Georgina Masson’s Italian Gardens ..on Amazon

Hadrian's Villa Photo © Alice Joyce

Set off by magnificent statuary and fountains, the central feature – a long reflecting pool, is watched over by caryatids – figures copied from the Athenian temple of Erechteion, and linked to the god Sarapis. Colonnades remind visitors of the Villa’s once glorious structures.

Travelers generally set aside a day to immerse themselves in the ancient history of Villa Adriana, reimagining the goings-on in the marvelous courtyards, together with time spent at the nearby Villa d’Este, commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito d’Este. With the passing of many centuries, the deterioration of Hadrian’s magnificent architectural complex may be seen to follow the decline of the Roman Empire itself. Further adding to the ruin of Villa Adriana’s artifacts and architecture, Cardinal d’Este claimed many of the site’s superb marble elements and statues, placing them in his own ostentatious country estate.

A stone crocodile pays homage to Hadrian’s memories of the Nile.

Hadrian's Villa Crocodile / Photo © Copyright Alice Joyce

The most magical of all Italian landscapes…. Ninfa!

Enchanted Ninfa : Travel Italy

Ninfa .. An Enchanted Setting: Cascade: Photo © ALICE JOYCE

In 1297 Pope Bonifaciio VIII gifted Ninfa to a relative, Pietro Caetani. Yet, by the late 1300s, warring factions overran the thriving Medieval town, leaving it in ruins.

Ninfa Photo © Alice Joyce

Today… Ninfa is a landscape where gardens rise up on the site of a once-prominent 8th-century town.

Pomegranate: Alice Joyce Photo

Documentation traces Ninfa to the 1st century, when Pliny wrote of a temple constructed in homage to mythical nymphs: The Nymphs known to dwell in Ninfa’s pristine lake, the cold waters flowing from an alpine mountain source.

Ninfa : Alice Joyce photo

Look to, The English Garden Abroad, should you wish to learn more about the making of Ninfa’s gardens.

In the well-researched book, Charles Quest-Ritson follows the shaping of the present-day gardens by the creators: Three generations of the Caetani family responsible for the landscape one sees today. In particular, three ladies of English and American ancestry – laudable, artistic figures who contributed to the gardenscape.

Ninfa .. Rushing Water (Alice Joyce photo)

A breathtaking naturalism envelops the visitor to Ninfa. At every turn, the eye rests upon lush greenery, or plentiful vistas of fresh water.

: NINFA frescoes : ALICE JOYCE Photo

The wistful romanticism of ancient stone walls is not easily captured in words; the stone surfaces a honey-hued canvas for fading frescoes.

: NINFA Frescoes Detail: ALICE JOYCE Photo

Importantly, the land is safe harbor for 132 species of birds, pure lake waters, and a Pontine marshland habitat. Ninfa’s 100,000-hectare property is accorded utmost respect by the governing Roffredo Caetani Foundation & curator, Lauro Marchetti. With the dawn of the 21st century, to care for the land is a primary consideration: Ninfa’s historic landscape of treasured flora and fauna is in many ways unique.

NINFA Landscape: Alice Joyce photo

Ninfa’s organically maintained gardens are located 20 km from the sea, situated at the base of the Lepini Mountains, and therefore protected from harsh winds. The gardens emerge as an idyllic natural setting. Yet, at the same time, the lush plantings are a resonant reminder of the loving touch and prescient planning of the keen-sighted garden-makers of the past.

The restored castle tower overlooks magnificent architectural evergreen pines, playing off flowering cherries, aristocratic magnolias, and the contorted limbs of mature maples.

The atmosphere feels blessed as you explore pathways, coming upon long vistas of gently meandering streams flanked by an alliance of roses and rhododendrons, self-sown mahonia, and the lavish foliage of gunnera. The eye alights upon a banana grove in a sun-drenched clearing: A microclimate warmed by venerable stone walls and ruins.

Ninfa Vignette: ALICE JOYCE Photo

There is talk of a project to extend the gardens, creating a spacious nature reserve for the abundant wildlife.

Ninfa opens to the public on a limited basis, offering guided tours.

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