European and Japanese Gardens 



Pitti Palace, just without the Porta Romana ; a garden of vast 

 dimensions, with less of architectural interest than most large 

 palace or villa gardens, but possessing many features of great 

 beauty. At Poggio a Cajano is a villa dating from the early 

 sixteenth century, with a fine old park. A little further from 

 Florence is the Villa Medicea in Careggi, once the property of 

 the Dukes of Tuscany, and dating from 1460, but (I believe) 

 without important gardens. Still further to the northwest is 

 the Villa Petraia, and west of it the Villa Castello, both now 

 belonging to the crown, and having very elaborate and beau- 

 tiful gardens, which are well worthy of a visit. Another Me- 

 dicean villa near by, the Quarto, with a fine garden, belongs to 

 the Stroganoff family. One or two other villas are to be seen 

 on the way to Fiesole. The fine Villa Poggio Imperiale, dat- 

 ing from 1622, is now a girls' school and not open to the pub- 

 lic. At Genoa are no villas of the first importance, nor do I 

 know of examples elsewhere in Italy comparable with those 

 hitherto mentioned, either in historic or artistic interest, except 

 the Caserta palace gardens already mentioned. 



There are, however, both in Northern Italy, especially 

 near Genoa and about Lake Como, and in Southern Italy in 

 the vicinity of Naples, many villas of the second rank, some 

 of quite modern date, others dating from the sixteenth and 

 seventeenth centuries. These, in their measure, embody the 

 same principles and possess a like charm with those of which 

 I have gi\en some account in and near Rome. The difterence 

 is in degree rather than in kind. 



I have discussed only the Italian villa, because it is the 

 most monumental and characteristic form of the Italian gar- 

 den. There are thousands of public and private parks and gar- 

 dens which, owing to different controlling conditions and to the 

 influence of English and French models, depart radically from 

 the formal villa-type. Long, narrow stretches along the river- 

 side or lakeside, small areas surrounding railway stations, open 

 squares in the cities, demand a difterent handling from that I 

 have described. In these we meet with both good and bad 

 examples, but most of them are delightful, if for no other rea- 

 son, because of the brilliance of the grass and of the flowers 

 and foliage plants, and because of the lovely atmosphere and 

 surroundings of the scene. Everywhere is water — in jets or 

 cascades, and always with architectural accompaniments and 



