THE GARDENS OF ITALY. 



part of these buildings remains half burnt, even now in my time." The beauty of those 

 famous gardens perished in 410. 



In the fifteenth century the ground on which the villa now stands was partly in the 

 possession of Catherine de Medici and partly in that of Gio Ricci da Montepulciano, who was 

 made Cardinal by Giulio III in 1551, and the deed by which Catherine made it entirely hers is 

 still in the possession of the Ricci family in Rome. In 1540 Ricci had laid the first stone of 



the new building, but its 

 accomplishment was left to 

 Ferdinand de Medici, one 

 of those ecclesiastical princes 

 of the Renaissance whose 

 dearest occupation it was 

 to collect the precious re- 

 mains of antiquity where- 

 with to adorn those magni- 

 ficent villas which remain 

 as one of the chief charms 

 of Italy. Ferdinand finished 

 it, adorned it with antiques, 

 with paintings and sculp- 

 ture, planted the groups of 

 ilex and myrtle, added the 

 fountains, and finally be- 

 stowed upon it his own family 

 name. 



This prince, who was 

 son of Cosimo I and after- 

 wards succeeded his own 

 brother as Grand Duke of 

 Tuscany, was one of the 

 most remarkable person- 

 alities of his age. He was 

 made a Cardinal at fifteen, 

 and as he grew up so used 

 the influence of his position 

 that he practically governed 

 the Papal States during the 

 reign of Gregory XIII. 

 When Ferdinand left Rome 

 for Tuscany in 1587 the 

 historian Galluzzi writes of 

 him : "If Florence rejoiced 

 at the coming of her prince, 

 Rome groaned at losing him. 

 His kindness, his humanity, 

 his devotion in the time of 

 public calamity, the emula- 

 tion which his generous 



actions woke in all around had made him the object of the people's love and reverence. His 

 disinterested character, his far-seeing intelligence caused him to be looked upon as the most 

 powerful personage in Rome. No one knew better how to combat the indolence of Pope 

 Gregory or to moderate the impulses of Sixtus V. His noble air and natural gfiety made 

 him universally beloved. There was always room at his table for men of letters, whom 

 he recompensed generously." He established in Rome a library and a printing press for 



69. ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN THE GARDEN OF THE VILLA 



MEDICI, ROME. 



