ITALIAN VILLA GARDENS 



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The Villa d'Este, the masterpiece of Piero Ligorio, 

 is one of those said to have been inspired by the Villa 

 Madama. According to Percier and Fontaine, it was 

 originally begun by the Bishop of Cordova; 

 afterward it belonged to a succession of Car- 

 dinals d'Este, and a recent occupant was the 

 late Cardinal Hohenlohe. The large quantity 

 of water employed to adorn the grounds and 

 the great variety shown in its treatment seem 

 to indicate a reminiscence of the Moorish gardens in 

 Spain. 



Architecturally, this villa is especially interesting on 

 account of the ingenious construction of the terraces 

 and ramps connecting the palace with the gardens far 

 below. The ornamental details are excellent in scale 

 and proportion, and merit espe- 

 cial attention. But the peculiar 

 charm of these gardens is in 

 their atmosphere, a charm none 

 the less real because indefinable. 

 The mass of the grounds is in 

 shadow; the trees have grown 

 to a great height, the once trim hedges are no longer 

 clipped, and the parterres contain no cultivated flowers. 

 In fact, the garden has become an unkempt wilderness ; 

 but gleams of sunshine, the songs of birds, and the 

 sound of trickling water lighten the gloom and give 





