THE GARDENS OF VENICE 
of gardening and of all out-door pursuits, and congratu¬ 
lated himself that, more fortunate than most of his con¬ 
temporaries, he had lived long enough to enjoy the 
houses which he had built and the gardens which he 
had planted. 
“ Each September and October,” he writes, “ I 
spend at my villa, which stands in the most beautiful 
part of the Euganean hills, and is adorned with garden 
and fountains and a fine loggia, where I entertain my 
friends, and occasionally give large hunting-parties. 
Later in the year I go to my other villa in the plains 
at Codevigo, on the shores of the Brenta. This house 
is built in the form of a quadrangle, with the river 
running through the gardens, and contains ample 
accommodation for my family and guests as well as 
a chapel and altars for the worship of God.” 1 
Contemporary Venetian writers describe the gardens 
of Villa Cornaro at Este, as being among the finest 
of their kind. They wax eloquent over the pergolas 
and fountains, the porticoes and antique statues, the 
urns and vases with which the grounds were adorned, 
and the excellent grapes and wine which the vineyards 
produced. There was a theatre in which admirable 
concerts were given, and the popular actor Ruzzante 
frequently appeared in his own pastoral comedies. 2 
But Messer Alvise was above all a practical man. 
1 A. Cornaro, La Vita Sobria. 
2 Lovarini in LArte , ii. 199. 
