ITALIAN GARDENS OF THE RENAISSANCE 



own. 1 Many of these were in the heart of the city, in 

 the populous quarters of S. Canciano and Canareggio. 

 Cardinal Grimani's palace, with its wonderful library 

 and paintings, stood near S. Maria Formosa ; Marc* 

 Antonio Michieli, the Anonimo, who has left us a record 

 of contemporary works of art in Venice and the neigh- 

 bourhood, and was himself a distinguished collector, 

 lived in the parish of S. Trovaso, and Bembo's kins- 

 man, Donato Marcello, had a villa which was described 

 as a luogo delidssimo in the Vignole that cluster of 

 green islets between Murano and the Lido which are 

 still planted with vineyards. In the narrow Calle della 

 Pieta, behind the church which holds Moretto's 

 masterpiece, was the little garden belonging to Ales- 

 sandro Vittoria, where the accomplished sculptor tended 

 his favourite flowers, and planted all manner of sweet- 

 scented herbs, and trained the roses with his own hands. 

 The master's portrait-bust remained in the garden until 

 the last century, and his ashes rest in a tomb, designed 

 by himself, in the neighbouring church of S. Zaccaria. 

 But most of the finest villas and largest gardens were 

 to be found on the island of the Giudecca. Here the 

 Doge, Andrea Gritti, the Barbaro brothers, the illus- 

 trious families of Mocenigo and Vendramini, had 

 spacious gardens, where carnations from Damascus and 

 other rare plants from the East blossomed among the 



1 F. Sansovino, Venetia, 369. 



108 



