It has been suggested that Michael Angelo designed the garden 

 ia9ade of the palazzo, but this is disputed or at least does not appear to 

 be proved. That it is a remarkably successful work and worthy of any 

 master, no one can deny. The cleverness and originality of the 

 decoration of this fafade with its playful beauty and delicate grace lift 

 It out of the ordinary, and render it essentially suitable to its garden 

 surroundings. As seen from the garden the effect of the palazzo, with 

 its slightly projecting wings, its higher middle portion flanked by turrets 

 and turret balconies with the connecting balustrade, once adorned with 

 statues, as at the Villa Borghese, is faultlessly beautiful. 



Noticeable too is the superb loggia, with its antique columns of 

 granite and cippolino placed so as to command the garden, for it should 

 not be forgotten that the prospect from these garden loggie was of great 

 consequence, since they were intended to play such an important part in 

 the daily life. The most essential point in the design is the employment 

 in this fa9ade of precious antique bas-reliefs, which with consummate art 

 break the monotony of the larger wall spaces without unduly cutting 

 them up. Everywhere there is a fulness of detail giving an effect 

 similar to that which is to be seen in the best mosaic work, and all is 

 kept in strict order by the few strong dividing lines of the greater 

 features. 



To turn to the garden. The first essential to an ideal garden is the 

 parterre spread out immediately beneath the windows of the house 

 displaying the pattern of the flower beds to the best advantage. Beyond 

 this should be some compartments on a larger and broader scale, 

 preparing the way for the wild or comparatively wild grounds beyond. 

 But in the case of the Villa Medici, as so frequently happens, the 

 natural lie of the ground interferes with such an arrangement, and 

 the parterre lies in front of the palazzo with the simpler garden to 

 the left and the bosco, which takes the place of the wild garden, to the 

 right. 



Falda has left us twa prints of the villa as it appeared in his day, 

 which show that its general lines remain much as they were years ago. 

 The loggia opens on to a court with a simple well-designed fountain 

 in its centre. Between the windows, and elsewhere are placed statues, 



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