Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot

Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya

Submitted By :- Ghanshyam Patidar

Submitted to :- S.S. Singh Sir
The Italian
Garden
The classic Italian garden, also known as the
Renaissance garden, was a new style of
garden which emerged in the late 15th century
at prosperous villas in Rome and Florence.
Prior to this, Italian Medieval gardens had been
inward looking, enclosed by walls and devoted
to growing vegetables, fruits, and medicinal
herbs (or for silent meditation and prayer in
monastery gardens). The Italian Renaissance
garden broke down the wall between the garden,
the house, and the landscape outside to look
outward, both physically and intellectually, and
was grown primarily for the purpose of pleasure,
although edibles were included.
 Glossary of the Italian
Renaissance garden
Bosco sacro. Sacred wood. A grove of trees inspired by the
groves where pagans would worship. In Renaissance and
especially manarist gardens, this section was filled with
allegorical statues of animals, giants and legendary creaters.
Fontaniere. The fountain-maker, a hydraulic engineer who
designed the water system and fountains.
Giardino segreto. The Secret Garden. An enclosed private
garden within the garden, inspired by the cloisters of Medieval
monasteries. A place for reading, writing or quiet
conversations.
Giochi d'acqua. water tricks. Concealed fountains which
drenched unsuspecting visitors.
Semplici. "Simples," or medicinal plants and herbs.
Gardens of the Early Italian Renaissance
 The Medici Villa at Fiesole (1455-1790)

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 on a rocky hillside with a view over
Florence.
The Medici Villa at Fiesole (1455-1790)
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. He was a scholar of Latin and
wrote extensively on education, astronomy and social
culture.[13] 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 Monte Amiata. Closer to
the house, there were terraces with geometric flowerbeds
surrounding fountains and ornamented with bushes
trimmed into cones and spheres similar to the garden of
Pliny described in Alberti's De re aedificatoria.[14] The
garden was designed to open to the town, the palace and
the view.
The Palazzo Piccolomini at Pienza, Tuscany (1459)
The Cortile del Belvedere in the Vatican Palace, Rome (1504–1513)

 In 1504 Pope Julius II commissioned the architect Donato Bramante to

recreate a classical Roman pleasure garden in the space between the
old papal Vatican palace in Rome and the nearby Villa Belvedere. His
model was the ancient Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia at Palestrina or
ancient Praeneste, and he used the classical ideals of proportion,
symmetry and perspective in his design. He created a central axis to
link the two buildings, and a series of terraces connected by double
ramps, modelled after those at Palestrina. The terraces were divided
into squares and rectangles by paths and flowerbeds, and served as an
outdoor setting for Pope Julius's extraordinary collection of classical
sculpture, which included the famous Laocoön and the 
Apollo Belvedere. The heart of the garden was a courtyard surrounded
by a three-tiered loggia, which served as a theater for entertainments. A
central exedra formed the dramatic conclusion of the long perspective
up the courtyard, ramps and terraces.
The Cortile del Belvedere in the Vatican Palace, Rome (1504–1513)
 The Villa Madama, Rome (1516)

 The Villa Madama, situated on the slopes of Monte Mario and

overlooking Rome, was begun by Pope Leo X and continued by
Cardinal Giulio de' Medici (1478–1534). In 1516 Leo X gave the
commission to Raphael who was at that time the most famous artist in
Rome. Using the ancient text of De Architectura by Vitruvius and the
writings of Pliny the Younger, Raphael imagined his own version of an
ideal classical villa and garden. His villa had a great circular courtyard,
and was divided into a winter apartment and a summer apartment.
Passages led from the courtyard to the great loggia from which views
could be gained of the garden and Rome. A round tower on the east
side was intended as garden room in winter, warmed by the sun
coming through glazed windows. The villa overlooked three terraces,
one a square, one a circle, and one an oval. The top terrace was to be
planted in chestnut trees and firs while the lower terrace was intended
for plant beds.
The Villa Madama, Rome (1516)
Characteristic Features of the Italian Garden

 • Principle of imposing order over nature

 • Symmetry & axial geometry
 • An expansive vista
 • Very formal lines that intersect
 • Geometrically patterned beds
 • Primarily evergreens for texture, shape
 • Designed to be inspiring all year round
 • Few flowers
 • Green is the dominant color
 • Backdrop for sculpture
 • Historic themes
 • Contrast of sun and shade
 • Shady walkways
 • Water features
 • Steps, urns and balustrades
Some Other Italian Garden

The geometric garden

at Villa La Foce.
 A wide gravel path leads up to Villa della Petraia

Central fountain in Giardino di Castello.

 Amphitheater of Boboli Gardens, Florence.

Italian Renaissance Garden at Hamilton

Gardens, New Zealand.
Evergreen plants of a variety of shades of
green, silver, bronze or gold are manicured
into geometric shapes.