ITALIAN VILLAS 
are small, for the house stands on a steep ledge over- 
looking the Tiber, whence there is a glorious view of 
St. Peters and the Janiculan. The designer of the 
garden evidently felt that it must be a mere setting to 
this view ; and accordingly he laid out a straight walk, 
walled with box and laurel and running from the gate 
to the terrace above the river. The prospect framed in 
this green tunnel is one of the sights of Rome ; and, by 
a touch peculiarly Italian, the keyhole of the gate has 
been so placed as to take it in. To the left of the 
pleached walk lies a small flower-garden, planted with 
square-cut box-trees, and enclosed in a high wall with 
niches containing statues: a real “secret garden,” full 
of sunny cloistered stillness, in restful contrast to the 
wide prospect below the terrace. 
The grounds behind the Palazzo Colonna belong to 
another type, and are an interesting example of the 
treatment of a city garden, especially valuable now that 
so many of the great gardens within the walls of Rome 
have been destroyed. 
The Colonna palace stands at the foot of the Quirinal 
Hill, and the gardens are built on the steep slope behind 
it, being entered by a stately gateway from the Via 
Ouirinale. On this upper level there is a charming 
rectangular box-garden, with flower-plots about a central 
basin. Thence one descends to two narrow terraces, 
one beneath the other, planted with box and ilex, and 
adorned with ancient marbles. Down the centre, start- 
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