Not a stone's throw away lies the Piazza di Siena, a kind of 

 hippodrome, with continuous seats, or steps, raised one above another, 

 and the running track marked out by tall cypresses, and hedges of box, 

 which according to Percier and Fontaine was laid out at the end of the 

 eighteenth century. Behind the seats are fine groups and masses of 

 stone pines. On a summer's day no more delightful lounge than this 

 can be imagined, the cool long grass, the welcome shade, together 

 with the pleasant fresh smell of the pines, making a quiet resting-place 

 which few can resist. 



The plan made by Simon Felice shortly after the gardens were 

 laid out, shows that, in general outline at least, that portion of the 

 gardens immediately surrounding the palazzo still remains much as it 

 was originally. But outside a line drawn from the aviary to the little 

 " Temple of Diana " great changes have taken place ; the Ragnaia 

 Grande, a " wood for hunting thrushes " which appears to have con- 

 sisted of six or eight rows of trees, planted avpnue fashion, and 

 reaching to the boundary wall, has disappeared and the Piazza di Siena 

 occupies a portion of its site. To the earlier period belong two 

 pavilions on either side of the Piazza, as well as the Ostrich house 

 beyond, and the Palazzino with its little terraced garden, near to the 

 Giardino del Lago. 



To a much later date belongs this Giardino del Lago, which as 

 a matter of fact Percier and Fontaine tell us was in process of con- 

 struction during their stay. Divided from the carriage-way by an iron 

 fence, and pedestals which carry dilapidated statues, mostly of doubtful 

 value, is what was possibly a more private garden. This is partly laid 

 out with straight broad walks — but with trees and shrubs planted to 

 a great extent in haphazard fashion. Among these are some stone seats, 

 and sarcophagi with other ancient sculptures, cages occupied by unhappy 

 looking birds and beasts, and, beyond, a lake reflecting in its not too 

 pellucid surface a kind of temple dedicated to Esculapius. This mixture 

 of the formal and the informal is rarely a success. The best thing in 

 the garden is the view away from over the vineyards and the campagna. 



17 



