Old Gardens of Italy 67 



belonged to Palla Strozzi, afterwards exiled by the 

 jealousy of his fellow-citizens. In 1460 Alexandra 

 Bardi, widow of his son Lorenzo, sold it to 

 Bernardo di Stoldo Rinieri. Till then the place 

 was simply known as II Palagetto. In 1571 it 

 passed into the hands of Francesco di Jacopo 

 Sangalletto, in 1597 of Pagolo di Giuliano Donati, 

 and later was bought by Cosimo, son of the Grand 

 Duke Ferdinando II. de Medici, so that he might 

 have a house of his own near his father. After- 

 wards it belonged to the Jesuit order, and finally 

 came into the possession of the Corsini family. It 

 now belongs to Prince Corsini, who most courte- 

 ously gives permission to visitors to see the grounds 

 and who is himself a great authority on the old 

 gardens of Italy. Villa Corsini is quite close to 

 Villa Petraja and the Villa Reale, Castello. 



The house was remodelled during the end of the 

 seventeenth century by Antonio Ferri. 



The villa is, like Castello, on a hi^h road, the 

 entire space at the back being thus reserved for its 

 gardens. In this way much greater privacy is 

 ensured when the grounds are not very extensive. 

 As Mrs. Wharton points out, the plan is very usual 

 in France, and we see it in nearly all Italian town 

 gardens the Boboli gardens, for instance, and the 

 Giusti Gardens at Verona. 



The garden of Villa Corsini has much quiet 

 charm. The parterre, with its central pool, is laid 

 out in an intricate geometrical pattern, and bordered 

 on three sides by a wall over which climb roses, the 

 picturesque garden front of the house forming the 



