384 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



October, 19 lo 



the original beauty of a Pompelan house with all its paint- 

 ings, sculptures and richness of ornamentation. 



What particularly attracted Mr. Sbarboro was the peri- 

 style garden. The roof of the ancient colonnade has been 

 restored and flowers and shrubs have been planted in the 

 enclosure in accordance with the arrangement indicated by 

 the appearance of the ground at the time of the excavation. 

 The experiment has proved a great success, for the foun- 

 tains, statuettes, and wealth of greenery are a welcome 

 sight to the weary tourist after wandering through miles 

 of streets and ruined buildings that were blotted out under 

 the fiery wrath of the furnace mountain behind it. 



The romantic trend of his nature prompted Mr. Sbar- 

 boro to reproduce the Vetti House at Asti. The peristyle 



an impluvian, a hearth consecrated to the lares, or a tab- 

 linum. She agreed they were all right in Pompeian days, 

 but at Asti, she contended, every room should be simple, 

 useful and should face on the court. Besides Mrs. Sbar- 

 boro insisted on comfortable bedrooms for her family and 

 guests instead of the cubbyholes with which the ancients 

 were content; she wanted a kitchen where her servants 

 could move about with ease in the preparation of the meals; 

 she said she needed plenty of closets, several bathrooms 

 and modern fireplaces to keep the rooms properly heated, 

 since it was announced that the structural material would 

 be reinforced concrete. 



A compromise was effected by which it was decided to 

 reproduce as faithfully as possible only the peristyle and 



f 

 f 



The fountain and the pool in the garden 



garden was just what he had been looking for. It afforded 

 an opportunity for plenty of sunshine and flowers and was 

 a welcome change from the Spanish patios, Persian gardens 

 and Moorish courts that have been so extensively intro- 

 duced in pretentious summer homes in California. 



Armed with an elaborate set of plans which he obtained 

 from the authorities, Mr. Sbarboro returned to California 

 and spreading them before the curious eyes of his family, 

 he proceeded to describe the different rooms of the famous 

 Vetti House. But before he had gone far, Mr. Sbarboro 

 realized that many changes would have to be introduced 

 before the house could be made a practical summer habita- 

 tion. From the beginning, he found his wife protesting 

 vigorously against a "museum" being erected instead of a 

 summer home. She could see no necessity for an atrium. 



center garden. All the rooms, however, which were to be 

 large and airy, were to be so grouped ^bout the court that 

 they would present the appearance of a suburban Pom- 

 peian villa. How successful the architect and gardener 

 have been in securing this atmosphere can be attested by 

 the thousands of travelers from every clime who have mar- 

 veled at its beauties and inscribed their name in the vis- 

 itors' book. 



The pillared entrance to the Villa Pompeii grounds is 

 just opposite the station of Asti, where a number of the 

 residents of the neighborhood and the Colony's employees 

 usually assemble at train time. Nearly all the vineyardists 

 and wine-makers brought their families with them from the 

 Old World and to-day the dark-haired, olive-skinned 

 women and children form a picturesque bit of Old Italy 



