THE GARDENS OF ITALY. 



beyond, Pius IX used to ride here on his white mule, and the present Pope walks here nearly 

 every day. 



Past a rough grotto fountain on the slope of the hill, the road leads downward to the lower 

 and more formal part of the garden, past a fine wall fountain, where the water spouts in jets and 

 stars over the brown lip of a basin fringed with maidenhair fern. As we look at the water 

 gushing from the rocks we may recall that it was brought here in its plenty by Trajan after a 

 terrible inundation had led him to restrain and divert the Tiber. This outlet, according to 

 Falda's old book of gardens of 1640, went by the name of Fontana delli Torri, and from it the 

 path winds to the entrance to a little palm garden, which of old was the garden of the simples. 

 Immediately below is the entrance to the most beautiful spot in the garden, the Casino of 

 Pius IV, the Villa Pia, the chef d'oeuvre of the famous architect, Pirro Ligorio. Built 15551560. 



42. STAIRWAY UP TO THE LEVEL OF THE OVAL COURT OF THE VILLA PIA. 



materials taken from the stadium of Domitian in Piazza Navona are said to have been 

 used in the buildings.* 



A stone-paved courtyard is set round with low walls and seats, above which are ranged stone 

 vases, in which grow stiff yet graceful aloes ; at either end is a beautiful porch-like recess, the 

 arch of which is filled by graceful shell ornaments, while the sides have busts set in niches. 

 The whole is decorated in the rich and fanciful style of the Renaissance with delicate painting and 

 stucco-work. On one side is a large garden-house, airy, yet with a certain stateliness, its 

 facade rich and dainty with arabesque stucco-work and bas-reliefs. The walls within are painted 

 with gay medallions by Zuccaro, Baroccio and Santi di Tito. Here are two ancient mosaics, one 

 representing a hunt, the other a bacchanalian dance. Some old terra-cotta pictures, which 



* Sec La Villa Pia, par Jules Bouchet, Paris, 1837, a monograph which contains a full account of this splendid casino, 

 with complete drawings and details. Begun by Paul IV, who, like Pirro Ligorio, was a Neapolitan, in 1555, it was completed 

 in 1561 by Pius IV, from whom it has taken its name. Ligorio was appointed architect of St. Peter's first with Michael 

 Angelo arid then with Vignola. Failing to agree with Michael Angelo and wishing to alter his model, he was dismissed. In 

 1568 he went to Ferrara for the d'Estc family, and we lose sight of him. He died in 1580. Besides the Villa d'Este 

 at Tivoli, the only other work besides this casino was the Palazzo Lancellotti at Rome. The authority of his many writings on 

 antiquity has been disputed, but his zeal and knowledge were very great, and his taste must have been exquisite. A. T. B. 



