THE GARDENS OF PAPAL ROME 
The delicate grace and charm of these reliefs, the 
boundless wealth of fancy and infinite variety of 
invention which they reveal, all seem to indicate how 
large a part of the work was due to Raphael. Some of 
the best authorities, Hittorf for instance, pronounce 
the stuccoes of Villa Madama to be superior in beauty 
of detail and composition to those of the Vatican 
Loggie, while Burckhardt declares that some of the 
motives can only have emanated from the master’s 
brain. 1 
But what concerns us more nearly is that Raphael 
himself, without doubt, designed the gardens of Villa 
Madama. Of this we have certain proof in a drawing 
by his own hand in the Uffizi (No. 1355). Here, 
lightly sketched after his manner, are the outlines of 
the extensive gardens which he planned on the north¬ 
east of the house, where the ground falls towards the 
Tiber and Ponte Molle. We see how carefully he 
adapted his design to the configuration of the hillside 
by placing the gardens at three different levels. First 
of all, from the terrace in front of the facade, a double 
flight of steps led down to a square garden laid out in 
flower-beds and divided by pergolas, with one large 
central pavilion. From this parterre another broad 
stairway led to a round garden, adorned with loggias 
and clumps of cypresses, while the third and largest 
