The Gardens of the Villa Corsini 
steps that lead here and there from terrace to 
terrace, the stone seats, the balustrades, the 
winding paths leading back to where they 
came from, just long enough to give two 
playful lovers time for a light-hearted declara¬ 
tion—all these things are there, but the pretty 
ladies and attentive youths have vanished, 
and the silent wood seems to be listening for 
the echo of laughter heard long ago. Now, 
the only sound that breaks the silence of the 
hot summer day is the soothing trickle of the 
water as it runs into the fountain and, over¬ 
cement, its edge covered with rock-work 
grown over with ivy and periwinkles. 
Further on we come upon the missing 
River God perched desolate in a rocaille 
niche against a bit of wall, all that remains 
of the first enclosure before the Lanfredini 
enlarged the property. The statue faces 
the central path, twenty feet from the vivajo. 
Behind the wall there is a circular grass 
plot surrounded by small horse-chestnuts, 
then bushes, a row of tall cypresses, and 
lastly the wall that separates the grounds 
IN THE MIDST OF THE FLOWER GARDENS 
flowing, drips into the basin below through 
the fringe of maidenhair fern growing on 
its rim. The fountain is backed by a stone 
ornament, carved in fanciful flourishes and 
curves, surmounted by a coronet, below which 
a horse’s head and neck stretch out over the 
fountain, and it is from the mouth of the 
horse that the water flows. 
A flight of five low steps lead up on each 
side to the higher level above the fountain 
and to the vivajo mentioned by Vasari. 
No longer adorned by Tribolo’s River God, 
it is merely a square tank built of stone and 
of the Villa Corsini from those of Petraia. 
Of the history of the villa, that portion 
most likely to interest American and English 
readers relates to the period during which it 
was inhabited by Robert Dudley, son of 
Elizabeth’s favorite, the Earl of Leicester. 
Born in 1573, he left England in 1605, 
never to return, disgusted by the injustice 
of a decision of the Star Chamber pronounc¬ 
ing him illegitimate. 
The Villa of Castello must have been 
lent to him for life sometime after 1620, for 
in 1618 he was still at Pisa. Despite the 
