94 
House & Garden 
One Hundred Ways You Can 
Brighten Up Your Home 
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I 
J 
A Villa of the 
Italian Renaissance 
(Continued from page 92) 
pointless and unpleasant—the one is as 
essential to the other as the column is 
to the arch it supports. 
In our first glimpse of the upper gar¬ 
dens the Casino seems to rest superbly 
on the shoulders of the colossal river 
gods who keep stern watch over all in¬ 
truders from the outside world. The 
approach seems to have been designed 
with this perspective picture clearly in 
view, even the penetrations in the 
arched ceiling of the loggia have been 
purposely slanted to give the full bene¬ 
fit of the colorful arabesques of the 
brothers Zuccari. On entering the gar¬ 
den one first passes two grotesque fig¬ 
ures, Silence and Penitence, who from 
their lofty pedestals give warning for 
one’s behavior, while from the base of 
the first turquoise pool a fat grinning 
mask blubbers and sputters a jollier 
welcome. Once gathered within the 
outstretched arms of the lower court, 
the two flanking pavilions offer an op¬ 
portunity for the creation of a garden 
before ascending to the higher terraces. 
But one's curiosity is aroused by the 
rippling of the water down the long 
cascade and there is a desire to see what 
may be beyond those formidable giants 
at the top of the ramp. A chain of 
dolphins, long and beautifully chiselled, 
directing in playful lines the course ol 
the water down a narrow ramp, is so 
fascinating that the second level is 
gained while one is unconscious of the 
many slope steps. On either side 
are walls retaining the natural contour 
through which the ramp is cut on an 
easier grade—high walls, simply treated 
with paneling, niches and cornice, giv¬ 
ing a sense of enclosure and an added 
force to the perspective picture. 
THE SECOND LEVEL 
The second level, an oval grotto-like 
enclosure with curved stair ramps as¬ 
cending on either side, echoes the splash 
of many fountains. Fountain masks ap¬ 
pear from every recess, formed by the 
coarse rustication of the walls, and pour 
their songs of merriment or tragedy in¬ 
to the shell-like basins and vases. The 
giants, who superintend all this intri¬ 
cate play of water, are now gruesomely 
out of scale; they were meant to be 
seen in perspective view and not judged 
as works of art at close range. From 
their cornucopias spurt two streams of 
water that cross the jet from the vase 
below in a form that crudely symbolizes 
a Farnese Fleur-de-lis, a conceit that 
must have appealed even to a proud 
Cardinal. 
In every niche and crevice where a 
little soil can lodge or moisture can be 
sucked from the thick masonry, a green 
plant takes root and whether a maiden¬ 
hair fern around a fountain or common 
weed struggling for life along the cor¬ 
nice, it adds a living touch and relieves 
the curse of unrelenting architecture. 
Even in one season walls are covered 
with soft grey-green lichens and golden 
sporophytes and in the damper places 
are velvety green spots of moss. A 
luxuriant growth of vines overhanging 
cornices and ascending walls blends 
sky with masonry and masonry with 
earth, so that even the most confirmed 
naturalist would admit its perfection. 
By ascending one of the ramps that 
swings up from either side one finds 
himself at the center of the great par¬ 
terre that forms the third and most 
important garden level. Just in front 
is the Casino, rising two stories in 
height, banked against a fourth and 
higher terrace. It is set in the midst 
of a formal parterre of box hedging 
and turf alleys retained at a perfect 
level and in rectangular form by a 
surrounding wall. The walls above 
the level of the ground take the form 
of seats surmounted at regular inter¬ 
vals by colossal caryatides, who, un¬ 
conscious of the burdening vases on 
their tireless heads, grin and grimace at 
each other and those who loiter be¬ 
neath their kindly protection. Sixteen 
feet in height, more than twice liie 
size, they command the garden and 
even rival for supremacy the lofty 
chestnut and cypress trees under whose 
shade they stand. They are coarse 
in material, vigorous in carving and 
playful in conception, showing perhaps 
more craftsmanship than art, but un¬ 
deniably fitted for the function they 
perform. Most of the sculptural or¬ 
nament of the garden is obviously de¬ 
signed for that particular situation, and 
once removed from its setting would 
lose most of its charm. 
THE PARTERRE 
To judge the full effect of the par¬ 
terre one must ascend to the highest 
level, the level of the loggia from 
which the boxwood pattern was in¬ 
tended to count as a carpet design 
upon which was displayed, during the 
hours of evening light, the pageantry 
of Renaissance life. The ascent is 
made by ramps that start from the 
rear outer corners of the parterre and 
rise toward the Casino along the wall 
that retains the upper level. At the 
foot of the ramp are gates that lead 
out into the depths of the surrounding 
chestnut grove or of the fertile vine¬ 
yards. Here too is the same wealth 
of sculptural ornament and play of 
water that distinguishes this garden. 
Chubby dolphins alternated with shal¬ 
low bowls, in step-like fashion along 
the outer edge of the ramp, relay the 
water from one to another until it 
reaches its lowest level. 
Having gained the fourth and high¬ 
est terrace one is at the rear of the 
Casino, the backyard or more intimate 
part of the scheme. A broad panel of 
turf, constrained to agreeable propor¬ 
tions by retaining walls, is simply ac¬ 
cented by two flat lateral fountain 
bowls and a very beautiful marble 
fountain on the axis of the Casino. 
There has been a gradual refinement of 
scale and ornament as one approaches 
the Casino until, in this most exquisite 
fountain, there is a climax of beauti¬ 
ful proportion and detail. Its posi¬ 
tion is made all the more effective by 
a strip of mosaic paving, laid like an 
Oriental rug on the soft green of the 
turf, forming a regal approach to the 
flower terraces and terminal gate be¬ 
yond. Great use of this pebble mosaic, 
or Mosaic Veneziano, has been made 
in laying an interesting pattern over 
the most used lines of circulation. The 
Farnese Fleur-de-lis has not only deco¬ 
rated pedestals, fountains and cornices, 
but has literally been made to cover 
the earth in pebbles of dark touch¬ 
stone silhouetted against a pure white 
background of silicate. 
Before entering the Casino a glance 
must be given to the flower gardens 
that rise in three low terraces on either 
side of the turf alley which leads to the 
rear gateway. They are almost in total 
ruins now, but the few fragments that 
still remain intact suggest the splendor 
that once was there. In no other part 
of the garden could the life that Tom- 
masetti so perfectly depicted be more 
aptly set. Here on these sculptured 
terraces, richly scented with odor of 
flowers and sweet herbs, gaily colored 
(Continued on page 96) 
