350 The American Flower Garden 



and piled dry into pillars on which was laid, as an open roof, a trellis 

 of projecting poles. A temporary lattice between the pillars on 

 the sides of the pergola was used, too, until the vines that were 

 trained over it reached the roof, when the side poles were usually 

 removed. Within the leafy pergola the hardy Italian peasant and 

 his family spent many hours of every day, and the out-of-door living- 

 room was nothing if not practical and picturesque. The pergola 

 had long been enjoyed by the contadino s prosperous neighbours, 

 who adopted it purely for its aesthetic value, not for the utilitarian 

 purpose of growing grapes. In the great villas around the principal 

 Italian cities it was constructed almost exclusively of stone, the mas 

 sive columns, plain or carved, were wreathed with flowering vines: 

 passion flower, clematis and roses of every hue; the wooden cross 

 beams overhead festooned with swaying garlands none of which, 

 however, wafted a fragrance so delicious as that of the blossoming 

 grape. Along the leafy colonnade stone seats were placed. Much 

 formal entertaining has been done in such an out-of-door reception 

 room; much happy family life is still passed in Italian pergolas far 

 less pretentious. 



As the pergola may vary from the severe lines of the classic 

 marble columns to the rough pillars of dry-laid field stone, stucco 

 and rubble, or the knotty posts made of trees with their branches 

 lopped off for the supports of its roof, it is adaptable to every kind 

 of home conditions here. Only the Italian is an adept at utilising 

 the materials lying next his hand. We have need to apply his 

 methods, for the most picturesque effects are often attained with 

 the simplest materials. Carving or other ornamentation on the 

 columns enters into hopeless competition with the vines. 



Because it is adaptable to so many styles of houses and gardens, 

 and may be made of whatever material best suits its surroundings 



