European and Japanese Gardens 



ESSENTIAL FEATURES 9F THE VILLA GARDEN 



Plan of Villa Lante 



At Bagnaia 



ancient and glorious 

 estates witli such 

 loveliness of pros- 

 pect and setting. 



Given the condi- 

 tions which I ha\e 

 tried to sketch, it is 

 easv to understand 

 the results that came 

 about in the domain 

 of landscape gard- 

 ening. Thechurchly 

 patricians who buih 

 the \'illas were no 

 recluses, seeking the 

 solitude of the glens 

 and forests to hold 

 communion only 

 with themselves and 

 nature. The\' were 

 the powerful, proud 

 and wealthy leaders 

 of a society conspic- 

 uous for its worldli- 

 ness and love of dis- 

 play. Like true Ital- 

 ians they lo\ed the 

 open air, but unlike 

 the lords of Eng- 

 land and France, 

 thev had no taste for 

 the chase, and the 

 necessities of their 

 state precluded their 

 resorting to distant 

 castles embowered 

 in the forests or hid- 

 den in the gorges 

 of the Apennines. 

 It was to the \illa 

 that thev fled for 



