Unhappily a severe winter plays sad havoc with these minor fountains, 

 and it is long since this, and others similar to it at the extremities of 

 the garden, have added their quota to the freshness and gaiety of the 

 villa. 



The flagged pavement about the belvedere is pierced with numerous 

 tiny holes iox jet^ d'eaux^ but, like the majority oi guiochi d'acque, their 

 first use was in all likelihood for cooling the pavement during the heat ; 

 the pleasing sport of wetting your friends being an afterthought. 

 Judging from Montaigne's account of his own experience at Pratolino, 

 people seem to have taken a drenching in very good part. " In another 

 place, they had an amusing experience of the trick I have mentioned 

 before ; for as they were walking about the garden, looking at the 

 various objects of interest, the gardener, who had just before left them 

 for the purpose, while they were standing to admire some marble 

 statues they came to, discharged upon them, from under their feet and 

 legs, an infinity of springs of water, so small that, till you looked closely, 

 they were invisible, and which had just the appearance of small rain, 

 and they got regularly wet through, in the lower part of their persons. 

 . . . They have this sort of trick in a good many places in this part of 

 the country." 



Another interesting feature of this garden is the aviary, without 

 which no villa in the old days was thought complete. It lies on either 

 side of the central alley, at the western end of the parterre. Slender 

 stone columns with composite capitals of beaten copper sustain a 

 wooden entablature, above which was placed the open-work roof ; wire 

 netting filled in the spaces between, and the whole stood on a low stone 

 plinth. In order to afford a better view of the occupants, the sides 

 towards the alley are hollowed out, thus giving a pleasant variety to the 

 outline. These aviaries are troublesome places to keep in repair, and 

 have in consequence fallen considerably out of use. That at one time 

 they were a source of pleasure to their owners is evident from the sums 

 of money often spent upon them. In the Boboli gardens the aviary was 

 on such a scale that "woods and glades, alleys and fountains" were 

 included within it, " so that the creatures preserved there in great numbers 

 might enjoy the air and the aspect of the grove." 



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