THE GARDENS OF ITALY. 



.. i 



9. LOGGIA OR CAMERA ALFRESCA. 



is too high for the 

 descendants of the 

 constructive Ro- 

 mans. 



Such lofty 

 plateaux, raised 

 high on the hill 

 slope, give a valu- 

 able absence of 

 foreground, and 

 concentrate the in- 

 terest on a com- 

 manding prospect. 

 There is a sense of 

 seclusion combined 

 with unlimited out- 

 look. The hedge in 

 Italy is mostly re- 

 placed by the wall, 

 endlessly different 



in construction, ranging from rough dry stone, or rubble, mortared and brick banded, to crude 

 concrete plastered and finished with a coping of tiles. The hillside roads of Italy, climbing 

 between such walls, topped with cypress and olive, are as fully characteristic as a Devonshire 

 lane. The square-cut yew plays an important part enforcing the lines of balustrades and 

 serves as a background to statues, while the dense and shapely tunnel- way of living 

 greenery is not unknown. The pleached alley, though less common than the pergola, is fully as 

 effective. 



Fortunately, the great value of the land in Italy for olive and vineyard, like that of Kent for 

 orchards and hopfields, tends to restrict their villa gardens to moderate dimensions. Italy 

 generally is free from the reproach that attaches to French gardening, that the lay-out is too vast 



for human enjoy- 

 ment. There is no 

 absurdity so great 

 as that of extending 

 the garden as 

 though to the limit 

 of the horizon 

 itself. In trans- 

 lating the ideas of 

 Italy to other lands 

 the worst mistakes 

 have been those of 

 scale. Things 

 delightful in them- 

 selves have, by 

 exaggeration and 

 wearisome repeti- 

 tion, well-nigh lost 

 their native charm. 

 In England the 

 Italian, French, 

 Dutch and Oriental 

 Schools have all 

 10. WAYSIDE CHAPEL OR FOUNTAIN. had their admirers 



