House&Garden 
Vol.II DECEMBER, 1902 No. 12 
THE GARDENS OF THE VILLA I .ANTE 
AT BAGNAIA, NEAR VITERBO, ITALY 
I N writing of the Villa Lante it is of Italy 
and her gardens I write. To write of Italy 
and her gardens is to touch of the spirit of 
all gardens. To write of gardens is to write 
of Nature and man : a pleasant task ! 
A garden, I take it, is a place where 
Nature and man come close together ; 
where they join hands, as it were, to the 
greater pleasure of man, and I like to 
think, not to the displeasure of Nature. It 
is man’s little domain, for him more special¬ 
ized than the wild field; nature focused, 
stilled, and gently cared for. Delight in 
Nature is universal; and every kind of man, 
of every grade of life, makes outward 
expression of this pleasure. T he little way- 
side garden; the bright pots with their 
green festoons, reaching from some high 
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