by the old writers. The great terrace, with the Dragon fountain which 

 overlooks the campagna, and that other fountain or teatro cPacqua in the 

 private gardens, are undoubtedly the work of Giovanni Fontana, whose 

 hand is recognised in more than one of the neighbouring villas ; while 

 the laying out and planting of the villa can with equal certainty be 

 assigned to Carlo Rainaldi. 



The great cortile, which is entered by an archway beneath the 

 building, measures some hundred paces each way. Round three sides of 

 this the palazzo is built, the fourth side being formed by the high wall 

 of the garden. 



The gtardino segreto was formerly laid out with a number of simple 

 but interesting box-bordered plats of a not too intricate pattern. Among 

 these were placed fountains large and small. The lower part of the 

 enclosing wall was masked by hedges of sweet bay or possibly by 

 espaliers of lemon, the upper section containing a number of oval 

 niches for busts, and the coping above having ornaments at frequent 

 intervals. 



Owing to the fact that the palazzo is now used as a college for boys, 

 and that this enclosure has for some years served as a playground, it is 

 hardly necessary to say that the parterre and its accompanying fountains 

 have completely disappeared ; but the charming teatro d'acqua which ter- 

 minates the garden is still in a very fair state of preservation. 



This fountain, designed as I have already mentioned by Giovanni 

 Fontana, is raised upon a terrace about ten feet above the level of the 

 parterre. Up to this a double stairway leads, with handsome balustrades 

 and decorated until quite recently with beautiful fountain tazze above 

 the piers. 



The terrace has on three sides an architectural screen, with a broad 

 semicircular recess at the rear. This, in many respects, is similar to the 

 one at the Villa Lancellotti, having niches for statues placed between 

 rusticated pilasters. The niches, from which the statues have disappeared, 

 have an elaborate background of stucco-work and mosaic, which is an 

 attempt to represent in perspective a gallery or deep recess, the panelled 

 sides being ornamented with low reliefs in which strange water-beasts 

 play an important part. High up in the central niche, festooned with a 



11 H 



