SIENESE VILLAS 
As charming in its way, though less romantic and 
original, is the Marchese Chigi’s other seat of Vicobello, 
a mile or two beyond the Porta Ovile, on the other side 
of Siena. Vicobello lies in an open villa-studded 
country in complete contrast to the wooded hills about 
Cetinale. The villa is placed on a long narrow ridge 
of land, falling away abruptly at the back and front. A 
straight entrance avenue runs parallel to the outer walls 
of the outbuildings, which form the boundary of the 
court, the latter being entered through a vaulted porte- 
cochere. Facing this entrance (as at Cetinale) is a 
handsome gateway guarded by statues and set in a 
semicircular wall. Passing through this gate, one de- 
scends to a series of terraces planted with straight rows 
of the square-topped ilexes so characteristic of the 
Sienese gardens. These densely shaded terraces de- 
scend to a level stretch of sward (perhaps an old bowl- 
ing-green) bordered by a wall of clipped ilexes, at the 
foot of the hill on which the villa stands. 
On entering the forecourt, one faces the villa, a dig- 
nified oblong building of simple Renaissance architec- 
ture, ascribed in the local guide-book to Baldassare 
Peruzzi, and certainly of earlier construction than the 
house at Cetinale. On the left, a gate in a high wall 
leads to a walled garden, bounded by a long lemon- 
house which continues the line of the outbuildings on 
the court. Opposite, a corresponding gateway opens 
into the bosco which is the indispensable adjunct of the 
69 
