46 Old Gardens of Italy 



VILLA COLLODI, PESCIA. 



ALSO called Villa Garzoni. During the middle 

 ages it belonged to the See of Lucca, and in 1430 

 was besieged by the Florentines. It was for genera- 

 tions the property of the Garzoni family, and still 

 belongs to them. The present house and garden 

 date from the middle of the seventeenth century. 

 In an old book owned by the proprietor of the 

 Hotel Universo, at Lucca, the writer found a 

 statement that the design was due to Ottaviano 

 Diodati, a native of Lucca, who also competed with 

 Vanvitelli for the design for Caserta. But as 

 Francesco Sbaria's ode to " The Pomps of Collodi " 

 was written in 1652 (about a century earlier), the 

 garden must have existed then. The old book is a 

 " Guida di Lucca," compiled by Marchese Antonio 

 Mazzarosa, Lucca (Tipograffia di Guiseppe Giusti), 

 1845. 



The garden of Collodi is open to the public on 

 Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. It is 

 about two miles from Pescia station. Cabs will be 

 found there. 



Collodi is imposing rather than charming. The 

 position of the casino, quite detached from the 

 chief scheme of the garden, is peculiar, and gives 

 the impression that from the first the grounds were 

 laid out for public use. The fact that the tiny ham- 

 let is only gained by passing through the gates of 

 the great feudal demesne strengthens this sugges- 

 tion, and detracts from the sense of harmony and 



