104 



THE GARDENS OF ITALY. 



flatness of wall surface than really exists. The Palace is the residence of the Spanish 

 Ambassador and it is not shown to the public, except that two or three of the lower ground- 

 floor rooms containing some valuable pictures are open at certain hours. 



Although the original seven hills have been absorbed in the flood of building, some streets 

 will occasionally bring forcibly home to the traveller's mind the original hillsides of Rome. The 

 mighty retaining wall of the Villa Aldobrandini, holding up a terraced garden, is a fine instance 



of a characteristic Roman street 

 scene. The villa itself is in 

 the distance, one of the garden 

 pavilions occupying the fore- 

 ground, while on the other 

 side is the rich facade of 

 Santi Domenico e Sisto, built 

 by Vincenzo della Greca about 

 the year 1640. 



Villa Sciarra, on the Jani- 

 culum, which for generations 

 belonged to the Sciarra branch 

 of the great Colonna family, 

 was bought by Mr. Wurts, an 

 American, who was passion- 

 ately fond of gardening and 

 garden decoration. Italians do 

 not usually understand growing 

 flowers, and prefer such roses 

 and flowering shrubs as need 

 little care ; but in such a 

 climate, when an enthusiastic 

 gardener takes matters in hand, 

 the very perfection of floricul- 

 ture may be expected. In the 

 grounds of the Villa Sciarra, 

 sheets of colour catch the eye 

 at every turn, rose-rhododen- 

 drons tower aloft, while rare 

 and interesting plants fill the 

 borders. In one little garden, 

 where pansies of every shade 

 make a brilliant carpet, twelve 

 picturesque stone figures, 

 representing the months, are set 

 in a semicircle against close- 

 clipped hedges with the happiest 

 effect. From an old villa of the 

 Viscontis comes the beautiful 

 fountain illustrated, where the most charming of putti play games with the water and the Visconti 

 dragon. The villa itself is a true summer-house with cool retreats, vaulted and softly lighted, in 

 which to breathe the scent of flowers, to listen to the splash of fountains and to look down on 

 Rome glowing in the sun and watch the Alban hills, sixteen and a half miles from Rome, ever 

 changing, as the hours wear on, from delicate lilac and turquoise to purple amethyst and gold. 



The Sciarra gardens are on the site of the gardens of Julius Caesar, which he left to the people 

 for public pleasure-grounds. Many remains of Roman days have been discovered in them, 



114. THE ROMAN WALL IN THE GARDEN OF THE BRITISH 



EMBASSY. 



