Gardens of the Villa Gamberaia 
stone steps. On one side they lead to an¬ 
other garden, on the other to the shade of 
some enormous ilexes, both on a much 
higher level than the house. The different 
flights of steps, with their stone balustrades 
and many vases ornament the sides of this 
quaint recess. A semicircular wall covered 
with the sham rockery dear to eighteenth 
century decorators, ends this characteristic 
bit of garden-craft. The profusion of or¬ 
nament belongs to the period. Vases, busts, 
statues are everywhere and on every pro¬ 
jection. Steps lead up and down ; their 
real object is to reach the garden above, but 
they dally on terraces and lead into grottoes 
and other shady nooks, tor those not in a 
hurry to reach their destination. There is 
an indescribable, 1 had almost said an 
irrational, charm about these old-world con¬ 
ceits. Their affectations and pretences 
have something pathetic about them, so 
far are they removed from our practical 
view of life. 
'The garden to which the rockery steps 
lead, is especially beautiful in summer, when 
the lemon-trees have been brought from 
the house in which they spend the winter. 
(This house stands along the north side of 
the garden, its large windows facing the 
the south). When summer comes, the great 
red pots are placed on low stone pedestals at 
the corners of the flower-beds. The dark leaves 
and pendent yellow fruit are very beautiful ; 
but they also have a practical use, over and 
above that of the fruit, for they throw some 
shade on the beds beneath them. Straw¬ 
berries ripen here in quantities; otherwise the 
beds are devoted to flowers. As in every 
Italian garden, rows upon rows of carnations 
in pots bask in the sun. Side by side on 
the parapets there is also an abundance of 
larkspur, white lilies and great bushes of 
oleanders, glorious in June. 
The huge ilexes that grow in the boxes 
both to the north and south of this garden 
are certainly among the finest in Europe. 
They are clipped in the shape of a globe, no 
easy task, given the size of the trees and the 
denseness of the foliage. 
But the house itself stands free of trees. 
It is a long building, one story high, whose 
beauty lies in its simple and noble propor¬ 
tions. It is every inch of it what Italians 
call a villa signorile , strong and simple, yet 
with a homelike look of comfort about its 
wide-spreading roof. 
It is built in the customary Italian plan, 
around a quadrangle or cortile. The upper 
story, as usual, juts out and, supported by 
columns, it forms a covered passage on which 
staircases open direct, as well as the doors of 
the principal sitting-rooms. The house has 
been furnished with a fine simplicity that 
entirely suits it, for it would be an insult to 
those dignified vaulted rooms to fill them 
with modern bric-a-brac. On the contrary, 
there is no such jarring note about the place, 
for Gamberaia has, fortunately, fallen into 
the hands of an owner who appreciates its 
beauties and preserves them. 
56 
