Villa Lante's miraculous and gentle balance between humanity and nature continues to inspire.The Villa Lante, at Bagnaia some 40 miles north of Rome, was built (probably by Vignola) for Cardinal Gambara in the 1570s. It has often been described as the most beautiful garden of the Italian Renaissance, and it remains, scrupulously maintained by the state, as a moving three-dimensional poem about the relationship of humanity to nature. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Instead of dominating the landscape with a huge palace (as Vignola did at the nearby Villa Farnese The Villa Farnese, also known as Palazzo Farnese or Villa Caprarola, is a mansion in the town of Caprarola in the province of Viterbo, Northern Latium, Italy approximately 50 kilometres (35 miles) north-west of Rome. ), Gambara was prepared to divide his summer residence into two small casini (one finished for a successor by Maderno). Flowing between these is the abstracted story of a river, which, fed by an invisible aqueduct, starts at a mythical source high on the hill and flows down through cascades, statues, spouts, squirts, balustrades, giochi d'acqua, pools, a long picnic table A picnic table (or sometimes a picnic bench) is a modified table with benches expressly for the purpose of eating a meal outdoors (picnicking). In the past, picnic tables were typically made of wood, but modern tables can be made out of anything from recycled plastic to , fountains and rills to arrive at the sea of the great pond This article is about a pond in Maine. For other uses, see Great Pond (disambiguation). The largest great pond, named Great Pond, is located in Kennebec County, Maine, in the United States. It is part of the Kennebec River watershed. on the parterre parterre Division of garden beds in an ornamental pattern. The parterre grew out of the knot garden, a medieval form of bed in which various plant types were separated from each other by hedges. terrace below the casini. All is calm and green, smelling of water, box and grass, enlivened en·liv·en tr.v. en·liv·ened, en·liv·en·ing, en·liv·ens To make lively or spirited; animate. en·liv  en·er n. by the gentle chatter and splash of the stream as it hurries from terrace to terrace. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was remarkably expensive to make, but rarely can such large amounts of money have been spent with so much modesty, imagination and grace. What a wonderful legacy the cardinal left to us. P.D. |
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