ITALIAN VILLAS 
space permitted, the straight paths have been made to 
wind, and spotty flower-beds in grass have replaced 
the ordered box-gardens with their gravelled walks and 
their lemon-trees in earthen vases. 
The only old garden on Como which keeps more 
than a fragment of its original architecture is that of the 
Villa d’Este at Cernobbio, a mile or two from the town 
of Como, at the southern end of the lake. The villa, 
built in 1527 by Cardinal Gallio (who was born a fisher- 
lad of Cernobbio), has passed through numerous trans- 
formations. In 1816 it was bought by Caroline of 
Brunswick, who gave it the name of Este, and turned 
it into a great structure of the Empire style. Here for 
several years the Princess of Wales held the fantastic 
court of which Bergami, the courier, was High Chamber- 
lain if not Prince Consort; and, whatever disadvantages 
may have accrued to herself from this establishment, 
her residence at the Villa d’Este was a benefit to the 
village, for she built the road connecting Cernobbio with 
Moltrasio, which was the first carriage-drive along the 
lake, and spent large sums on improvements in the 
neighbourhood of her estate. 
Since then the villa has suffered a farther change into 
a large and fashionable hotel; but though Queen Caro- 
line anglicized a part of the grounds, the main lines of 
the old Renaissance garden still exist. 
Behind the Villa d’Este the mountains are suffi- 
ciently withdrawn to leave a gentle acclivity, which was 
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