LANDSCAPING

“ITALIAN GARDENS”
INTRODUCTION
 The Italian Renaissance garden
was a new style of garden which
emerged in the late 15th century
at villas in Rome and Florence.
 It is inspired by classical ideals of
order and duty and intended
for the pleasure of the view of the
garden and the landscape.
 The Italian renaissance garden
innovated the art of gardening
as well as the architecture of
waterways.
 Italian Renaissance garden, like
Renaissance art and architecture,
emerged from the rediscovery
by Renaissance scholars of
classical Roman models.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ITALIAN RENAISSANCE GARDENS:
 Very formal lines that intersect

 Result of hot climate

 Influences French baroque gardens

 Geometrically patterned beds,

or parterres, are a distinct element
of the Italian style.

 Traditionally, Italian gardens had few

flowers. The plants were primarily
evergreens for texture and shape,
often in manicured topiary.
19TH CENTURY REVIVAL ITALIAN GARDENS ARE BASED ON:
 Steps, urns and balustrades

 Geometrical to serpentine

 Designed to be inspiring all year round

 Not dependent on colour.

 Very formal

 An expansive vista
 Display and backdrop for sculpture

 Historic themes

 Contrast of sun and shade

 Shady alle or walk

 Water features
ELEMENTS:
There are two types of elements –
1) HARDSCAPE ELEMENTS 2) SOFTSCAPE ELEMENTS
HARDSCAPE ELEMENTS :
PROMENADE :
 The promenade is a wide, usually raised, pathway flanked by formally
clipped hedges where a family or visitors may stroll to view the garden.
 Its purpose is both for seeing and being seen, and it provides a stage
from which the owner can survey his holdings.
 Hardscape -- stone walkways, patios and walls -- is a signature
element of the italian garden, rather than expansive lawns.
SECRET GARDEN AND GROTTO :
 A hideaway in the garden that might contain a vine-draped
pergola or just a tucked-away bench provides an intimate
getaway space.
 Often an Italian garden includes a grotto - an artificial cave filled
with sculpture and furnishings where one can sip wine in a
refreshingly cool space.

VINE DRAPED PERGOLA GROTTO

STATUARY AND STONEWARE :
 The garden is considered an extension of the entertainment area of
the home, so it is decorated in the same manner, with plenty of art.

 Sculptures of gods, goddesses and heroes of ancient legends are

common.
 Lemon trees, potted in stone urns, are a favorite decoration for the
patio or seating areas.
 SOFTSCAPE ELEMENTS :
PLANTS :
 Traditional Italian gardens have few flowers. The plants are
mainly evergreens, manicured into geometric hedges or
topiaries.
 Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), boxwoods
(Buxus spp.) and junipers (Juniperus spp.) are some of the
plants commonly used to form living walls and delineate
different parts of the garden.
 Other green plants are massed within the borders of the
geometric beds. Italians also like to cover stone walls with
trellised foliage vines or climbing roses.
WATER :
 The sound and cooling effects of water are essential elements of
the Italian garden, whether from bubbling fountains, pools or
cascades.
 Often, an ornate stone fountain shooting arcs of water forms the
focal point of the garden. In old Italy, water triggers under the
pathways would send water shooting out of hidden pipes when
stepped on.
“VILLA D'ESTE AT TIVOLI “(1550-1572)

 The Villa d'Este is a villa in Tivoli,

near Rome, Italy.
 Listed as a UNESCO world heritage
site, it is a fine example of 
Renaissance architecture.
Italian Renaissance garden.

“GARDEN OF VILLA D'ESTE.

FISH PONDS.
  The master piece Italian – style
garden, has the innovative and
tasteful landscaping, the
bewildering 500 fountains,
water jets and water plays, the
troughs and pools, the
cascades, the grottoes, the
views, made it a world-
acclaimed sight.
 A modest villa, small and
austere, stands in the center of
the town of Rome.
 The garden is organized in a
combination of terraces and
downward slopes.
 Its main courtyard is simply
PLAN OF VILLA D’ESTE - TIVOLI paved with black, white and
red stone.
THE NEPTUNE FOUNTAIN :

 The Neptune fountain includes

two very high jets, height of 14
meters, flanked by 6 smaller
jets.

 The fountain also includes a

series of 7 water cascades, on
different levels, shape and
orientation.

VIEW OF THE NEPTUNE

FOUNTAIN
Largest fountain in the
Gardens of Villa d'Este.
Tivoli, Italy .
HYDRAULIC MARVEL:

 This is one of the first

hydraulic automatons, as it
was created in 1564.

 One could have an

instrumental group perform,
and the organ player adjust
the water play.

 Even the form and height of

the water spouts are related
to the music being played.
THE ROMETTA FOUNTAIN :

 The Rometta fountain reproduces

allusive key-parts of the eternal
city.

 Rome symbolized by a statue with

armor, helmet and larce.

 At the feet of the statue, amid the

water of a channel there is a boat
representing the Tiberina island.

VIEW OF THE ROMETTA FOUNTAI

BOAT SHAPED FOUNTAIN,

VILLA D'ESTE. TIVOLI, ITALY
 STAIRCESES:
 Staircases help in negotiating
the contours and link the
buildings with the landscape
in Italian garden.

VIEW OF THE STAIRCASE

The Villa d'Este

seen from the
lower terraces
of the garden.
Tivoli, Italy
Formal gardens seen from
the Villa d'Este. Tivoli, Italy
CERAMIC SIGN AT THE ENTRANCE
OF VILLA D'ESTE. TIVOLI, ITALY

FOUNTAINS IN THE GARDEN

ALLEY LINED WITH FOUNTAINS,
OF VILLA D'ESTE. TIVOLI,
VILLA D'ESTE. TIVOLI, ITALY ITALY
 FOUNTAINS AND POOLS IN
VILLA D'ESTE. TIVOLI, ITALY

Gardens of Villa d'Este. Tivoli,

Italy ELABORATE FOUNTAIN IN THE GARDENS OF
VILLA D'ESTE. TIVOLI, ITALY
GARDEN WITH RAPHAEL'S LOGGIA
 Sixteenth century Villa Madama,
just north of Rome. Designed by 
Raphael. It was one of the finest
Renaissance villas with its classically
simple facade, vast windows and
monumental courtyard. Inside are
beautiful stuccoes, friezes and
painted lacunar ceilings by
various Italian masters, including
(it is said) Raphael himself.
“GARDENS OF THE PALAZZO PICCOLOMINI”
THE PALAZZO PICCOLOMINI AT
PIENZA, TUSCANY, (1459)
 The Palazzo Piccolomini at 
Pienza , was built by Enea Silvio
Piccolomini, who was Pope from
1458 to 1464, under the name
of Pius II.
 In 1459, he constructed a palace
for himself and his Cardinals and
court in his small native town of
Pienza.
 Like the Villa Medici, a major
feature of the house was the
commanding view to be had from
the loggia over the valley, the Val
d'Orcia, to the slopes of Mount
Amiata.
 Closer to the house, there were
terraces with geometric
flowerbeds surrounding fountains
and ornamented with bushes
trimmed into cones and spheres.
 The garden was designed to open
to the town, the palace and the
view.
“VILLA MEDICI IN (1455-1461)
FIESOLE”
 The oldest existing Italian
Renaissance garden is at the 
Villa Medici in Fiesole, north of
Florence.
 It was created sometime
between 1455 and 1461 by
Giovanni de' Medici (1421–1463)
 the son of Cosimo de' Medici,
the founder of the Medici
dynasty.
 Unlike other Medici family villas
that were located on flat
farmland, this villa was located
“VILLA MEDICI IN FIESOLE” on a rocky hillside with a view
over Florence.
 The Villa Medici followed Alberti's
precepts that a villa should have a
view 'that overlooks the city, the
owner's land, the sea or a great
plain, and familiar hills and
mountains,' and that the foreground
have 'the delicacy of gardens.

 The garden has two large terraces,

one at the ground floor level and the
other at the level of the first floor.

 From the reception rooms on the

first floor, guests could go out to
the loggia and from there to the
garden so the loggia was a
transition space connecting the
interior with the exterior.
 The garden was inherited by
his nephew, Lorenzo de'
Medici, who made it a meeting
place for poets, artists, writers
and philosophers.
 In 1479, the poetAngelo
Poliziano, tutor to the Medici
children, described the garden
in a letter: "..Seated between
the sloping sides of the
mountains we have here water
in abundance and being
constantly refreshed with
moderate winds find little
inconvenience from the glare
of the sun. As you approach the
house it seems embosomed in
the wood, but when you reach
it you find it commands a full
prospect of the city.
“VILLA LANTE” (1570-1575)
 Villa Lante at Bagnaia is a Mannerist 
garden of surprise near Viterbo,
central Italy, attributed to Jacopo
Barozzi da Vignola).
 The villa is known as the "Villa Lante".
However, it did not become known as
this until the villa was passed to Ippolito
Lante Montefeltro della Rovere, Duke of
Bomarzo, in the 17th century.
was already 100 years old.

PEGASUS FOUNTAIN AT
VILLA LANTE (1570-1575)  
  The Villa Lante is formed by two
 casini (houses), nearly identical
but built by different owners in
a period separated by 30 years.
 Each square building has a
ground floor of rusticated arcades
or loggias which support a piano
nobile (main floor of renaissance
building) above.
 Each facade on this floor has just
GARDENS OF THE VILLA LANTE  
three windows, alternating round
or pointed pediments.
 Each window is divided by pilasters in pairs.
 An upper floor is merely hinted at by small rectangular, mezzanine
type, windows above those of the piano nobile. Each casino is then
crowned by a tower or lantern in the summit of the pantiled  roof.
 These elaborate square lanterns too have pilasters, and windows
both real and blind.
 Each of these casini, in their severe 
Mannerist style, was built by a
different unrelated owner. Villa Lante
was first commissioned by 
Cardinal GianfrancescoGambara 
who gives his surname to the first
casino.

BASIN AND ONE OF THE ”CASINI”

 The gardens of the Villa Lante features cascades to fountains and
dripping grottoes. The visual and harmonious choreography of
water and the mechanical perfection of its flow was only achieved
after Tommaso Ghinucci, a hydraulics engineer and architect from 
Siena, was called in; it is thought that his role was to oversee the
hydraulics and building work.  Although the renowned antiquarian
and architect Pirro Ligorio was also consulted, it seems likely that
the success of the water features is due to Ghinucci's expertise
which ensured that water lives and flows through the gardens to
this day.