A not inconsiderable feature of the well cared for Italian villa is the 

 use of flowering plants in pots, disposed around and about the fountains 

 and stairways, to which they lend colour and variety. These are often 

 concentrated in the vicinity of the fountains for convenience of watering, 

 or in some favoured corner of the house terrace. Here, shaded from 

 the extreme heat of the sun, is a group of azaleas, of pearly white or 

 pink, or vivid crimson, and nodding carnations of every hue, making 

 together a most delightful " smash " of colour in contrast with the more 

 sober background. 



Of the only two engravings of this villa, which I know, by Francesco 

 Pannini and Frigie respectively, that by the latter is certainly the more 

 reliable. Pannini gives us a large plate, but the drawing is faulty and 

 unconvincing, and the fountains seen between the casini are incorrectly 

 and miserably drawn. The inscription on the margin is " Veduta 

 principale della Villa Lante in Bagnaja. Architettura del Celeb re 

 Giacomo Barozzi detto il Vignola," which shows that in the i8th 

 century, or two hundred years after its foundation, the villa was 

 attributed to Vignola. 



Frigie's print is on quite a small scale and is very rudely engraved ; the 

 minor features are merely indicated, yet in such a way that there is really 

 no difficulty in identifying them. At the foot is a crabbed Latin inscrip- 

 tion which may be translated — " This villa, comprising gardens, fountains, 

 and woods, was created in a marvellous manner and at great cost, from 

 the foundations, by the Most Illustrious and Reverend Lord Giovanni 

 Francisco Gambara of Brescia. At the present time, however, it belongs 

 to the Most Illustrious and Reverend Cardinal Montalto, who with all 

 zeal and diligence has extended the beauty of the place to greater elegance 

 and spaciousness, sparing no expense in order that the celebrity of its fame 

 should bring thither all the princes of the earth, and justly, abundantly, 

 and completely satisfy them." 



He gives a list of the various fountains, &c., and we learn from 

 him that the villa was called the "Barco di Bagnaia^ The parterre still 

 remains as originally laid out, and twelve plots surround the great fountain, 

 each with its little central jet. These plots appear to have a low trellis- 

 fence such as was common in mediasval gardens. The peschiera is shown 



7S 



