ITALIAN GARDENS OF THE RENAISSANCE 
own. 1 Many of these were in the heart of the city, in 
the populous quarters of S. Canciano and Canareggio. 
Cardinal Grimani’s palace, with its wonderful library 
and paintings, stood near S. Maria Formosa; Marc’ 
Antonio Michieli, the Anonimo, who has left us a record 
of contemporary works of art in Venice and the neigh¬ 
bourhood, and was himself a distinguished collector, 
lived in the parish of S. Trovaso, and Bembo’s kins¬ 
man, Donato Marcello, had a villa which was described 
as a luogo delicissivno in the Vignole—that cluster of 
green islets between Murano and the Lido which are 
still planted with vineyards. In the narrow Calle della 
Pieta, behind the church which holds IVloretto’s 
masterpiece, was the little garden belonging to Ales¬ 
sandro Vittoria, where the accomplished sculptor tended 
his favourite flowers, and planted all manner of sweet- 
scented herbs, and trained the roses with his own hands. 
The master s portrait-bust remained in the garden until 
the last century, and his ashes rest in a tomb, designed 
by himself, in the neighbouring church of S. Zaccaria. 
But most of the finest villas and largest gardens were 
to be found on the island of the Giudecca. Here the 
Doge, Andrea Gritti, the Barbaro brothers, the illus¬ 
trious families of Mocenigo and Vendramini, had 
spacious gardens, where carnations from Damascus and 
other rare plants from the East blossomed among the 
1 F. Sansovino, Venetia, 369. 
I08 
