manner from those he describes elsewhere. It is from this intermittent 

 spring, or one having the same properties, that the Villa Pliniana has 

 received its name. This villa, which lies at no great distance from Como, 

 was built towards the close of the sixteenth century by a certain Conte 

 Anguissola. It is situated in a little bay facing towards the north, and 

 is in consequence one of the coolest on the lake. So steep is the shore 

 at this point that the casino literally has its foundations in the lake. 

 It is built about a small cortile, the two wings of the house being joined 

 by a most charming open loggia. In the centre is a circular fountain 

 basin, with a figure of Neptune supported upon a tall carved and fluted 

 pedestal. At the rear the court backs on to the cliff, where within a 

 grotto is found the intermittent spring, overhung with ferns and mosses. 



An ideal open-air room this ; for, looking through the arches of the 

 loggia^ there is a most delightful view up the long reach of the lake, with 

 the enclosing hills clothed with chestnut and olives, and its shores 

 enlivened by villas and slender campanili. 



On the opposite shore of the lake is the Villa d'Este, which occupies 

 a more open position. So many vicissitudes has this villa passed through 

 that little is left of the original gardens. It was built by Cardinal Gallio 

 towards the close of the sixteenth century, but probably was enlarged, 

 and the gardens were remodelled, at a much later date, by Conte 

 Odescalchi. 



The most interesting portion of the garden, at the present day, is the 

 great screen-wall that terminates the garden, with the cascade seen 

 through a break in it. The former is a very picturesque piece of 

 eighteenth-century work, and would be still more delightful if only it 

 had the advantage of a good foreground of flowers and box-work in place of 

 the present neglected grass and shrubs. A curving stairway leads to the 

 opening in the middle of this screen, and on either side are wide semi- 

 circular recesses. The wall is decorated with pilasters and entablature, 

 enclosing niches, statues, busts, and panels of stucco-work, and terminates 

 above the cornice in segmental pediments and slim obelisks. The whole 

 surface is encrusted with a rude stone mosaic, which, especially at a little 

 distance, gives a very pleasing texture. Within the screen is an oval 

 court, which encloses a large peschiera or fountain, with deep niches at 



154 



