FLORENTINE VILLAS 
to a long terrace planted with ilexes, whence there is a 
fine view over Florence — an unusual arrangement, as 
the bosco was generally above, not below, the flower- 
garden. 
If, owing to circumstances, the more famous pleasure- 
grounds of Florence have lost much of their antique 
charm, she has happily preserved a garden of another 
sort which possesses to an unusual degree the flavour of 
the past. This is the villa of the Gamberaia at Setti- 
gnano. Till its recent purchase, the Gamberaia had for 
many years been let out in lodgings for the summer, 
and it doubtless owes to this obscure fate the complete 
preservation of its garden-plan. Before the recent alter- 
ations made in its gardens, it was doubly interesting 
from its unchanged condition, and from the fact that, 
even in Italy, where small and irregular pieces of ground 
were so often utilized with marvellous skill, it was prob- 
ably the most perfect example of the art of producing a 
great effect on a small scale. 
The villa stands nobly on a ridge overlooking the 
village of Settignano and the wide-spread valley of the 
Arno. The house is small yet impressive. Though 
presumably built as late as 1610, it shows few conces- 
sions to the baroque style already prevalent in other 
parts of Italy, and is yet equally removed from the 
classic or Palladian manner which held its own so long 
in the Venetian country. The Gamberaia is distinctly 
Tuscan, and its projecting eaves, heavily coigned angles 
