THE GARDENS OF VENICE 



of gardening and of all out-door pursuits, and congratu- 

 lated himself that, more fortunate than most of his con- 

 temporaries, he had lived long enough to enjoy the 

 houses which he had built and the gardens which he 

 had planted. 



"Each September and October," he writes, "I 

 spend at my villa, which stands in the most beautiful 

 part of the Euganean hills, and is adorned with garden 

 and fountains and a fine loggia, where I entertain my 

 friends, and occasionally give large hunting-parties. 

 Later in the year I go to my other villa in the plains 

 at Codevigo, on the shores of the Brenta. This house 

 is built in the form of a quadrangle, with the river 

 running through the gardens, and contains ample 

 accommodation for my family and guests as well as 

 a chapel and altars for the worship of God." l 



Contemporary Venetian writers describe the gardens 

 of Villa Cornaro at Este, as being among the finest 

 of their kind. They wax eloquent over the pergolas 

 and fountains, the porticoes and antique statues, the 

 urns and vases with which the grounds were adorned, 

 and the excellent grapes and wine which the vineyards 

 produced. There was a theatre in which admirable 

 concerts were given, and the popular actor Ruzzante 

 frequently appeared in his own pastoral comedies. 2 

 But Messer Alvise was above all a practical man. 



1 A. Cornaro, La Vita Sobria. 

 * Lovarini in L'Arte, \\. 199. 



