78 
THE ART OF GARDEN DESIGN IN ITALY 
of great beauty; and on the top of this stem, Tribolo placed a bronze female figure, a yard and 
a half high, to represent Florence ... of which figure he had made a most beautiful model, 
wringing the water out of her hair with her hands.’ Some critics, however, declare that this 
figure of Florence is by John of Bologna. 
The parterre was arranged in an oval form, on sloping land, below the principal terrace: 
an arrangement which has many drawbacks, as it is most difficult to drain successfully, and the 
design cannot be well seen from above or on the level of the parterre itself. The fountain 
illustrated on Plate 39 occupies the centre of the parterre. 
