gested by some natural cause. The Villa Lante is 

 built on gently rising ground, and there is less terrac- 

 ing here than in the sites usually selected for Italian 

 villas. In no other, however, are there so many im- 

 portant characteristics still to be found. Moreover, 

 the arrangement is so compact, and the relation of 

 one part to another is so obvious, that they seem to 

 justify its selection as the starting-point in the study 

 of Italian gardening; not because it is the most im- 

 portant or the most beautiful, but because it serves 

 best as a key by the aid of which one can go to the 

 less perfect villas and better understand their prob- 

 able arrangement. 



