368 
GARDENS AND VILLAS ON LAKE MAGGIORE. 
master of this monumental type. Some of the detail is tolerably crude, but less so than in 
other examples, such as, for instance, the Aldobrandini at Frascati. The black flint-like pebbles 
used for the mosaic work are pleasanter than the rough stone spalls used elsewhere, and contrast 
well as a dark ground with the grey granite, the stonework and the worn white marble used 
for the architectural details and the sculpture (Fig. 384). The basis of the scheme seems to 
arise from the condition that a great reservoir had to be formed at one end of the island ; this, 
therefore, was surrounded by successive diminishing terraces, with an effect like the hanging 
gardens of Babylon in miniature. By a bold conception the mitre lines of the blunt pvramid 
thus formed were marked out by three tall obelisks and two statues on high pedestals set 
alternating. These converging lines, which give so much character to the island garden, 
are drawn, as it were, from two strong octagonal towers on the lake front, against which the 
return terraces abut (Fig. 381). The irregularities of the island are walled up, and planted 
with lemon and orange trees as lower plateaux (Fig. 380). On one side this artificial 
platform is seen supported on great pointed arches springing off the rocks, forming deep 
recesses full of shadow. The adjustment of the square lines of the real lay-out to the actual 
form of the island is extremely well done. There is m.uch concealed art in this garden, which 
appears probably to the every-day visitor as a verv much simpler thing than it is. Throughout 
the winter the orange and 
lemon trees trained on 
the terrace walls are 
protected by wooden 
pent roofs, which are 
removed about the month 
of May. There is some- 
thing of the appearance 
of an ancient fortress 
about the island when all 
these pents are in posi- 
tion. The highest terrace, 
or plateau, is oblong in 
shape, and provides a 
fine view over Stresa 
and the lake beyond. 
It seems as if the scheme 
demanded some crowning 
pavilion, loggia or shrine 
as the visible nucleus of 
the plan at this level. 
There is ample space for 
tree planting in this garden, and the soap tree, eucalyptus, oleander, Himalaya cedar, Japanese 
lemon, with many others, are pointed out to the visitor. 
The fatal defect of the baroco style, the vulgar desire to astonish, is far less visible in the 
garden than in the palace. The exterior of the palace is mainly finished in the fiat, dull style 
of the early part of the last century, the baroco scheme having been too incredibly costly to 
be ever realised. As it is, the centre block of the palace is all in the rough. 
The lay-out of the little harbour is interesting, with its ingeniously planned flights of steps 
leading to an arcaded open court — a square of six bays of elliptical arches. This, again, is onlv 
in a half-completed state. Presumably, had the whole scheme been realised, the picturesque 
jumble of old village houses which now links palace and church would have been swept away. 
With this achieved, more, perhaps, would have been lost than gained. 
'Fhose who wish to study this fascinating monument would do well to obtain a permission 
from the administration of the family in Milan, as nothing can be done on the spot. From a 
visit, as one of a troop of visitors making the regulation round, the garden student will probably 
come away merely bewildered by what he has seen. A. T. B. 
387. — STATE BEDCHAMBERS, ISOLA BELLA. 
