Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Renaissance Revival
In 1453, one of the Renaissance's most gifted men, polymath Leon Battista Alberti
(1404-72), wrote a radical new treatise on architecture and the architecture of gardens.
De
Re Aedificatoria
(On the Art of Building; published 1485) suggested that the Renaissance
retreat should not look inwards, but instead sit in an elevated position so its inhabitants
could both 'see' and 'be seen'. To create a beautiful garden in a magnificent landscape was
to tame nature and introduce culture, something to be widely applauded. This new showi-
ness appealed greatly to fashionable cardinals, princes and popes, who commissioned dar-
ing new pleasure gardens such as Bramante's Cortile del Belvedere (1484) and Raphael's
Villa Madama (1518), both in Rome.
These ground-breaking commissions introduced new rules of proportion, perspective and
symmetry to the garden. Off Alberti's central axis, the Renaissance landscaper divided up
the garden with hedges and rows of trees, while open terraces created powerful architectur-
al planes and loggias linked indoor and outdoor rooms. Hedges and topiary added sculptur-
al possibilities and organised space, contrasting openness with enclosures. The neatly
clipped labyrinth, serried ranks of cypresses and geometric axes of the Giardino Giusti
(1580) in Verona and the two- storied loggia, Roman statuary and 'garden rooms' of Villa
Guarienti (1538) at Punta San Vigilio provide classic examples.
Water, too, was a key component of the Renaissance garden. Still a luxury in the 16th
century, it was vital in enlivening the garden, attracting both birds and animals in summer
months. Ingenious new hydraulic engineering meant it was possible to pipe water further
and in greater quantities, allowing for elaborate fountains and humorous
giochi d'acqua
(water tricks), which were liable to drench silk-clad guests at any moment to the great
amusement of their hosts.
Such a garden was the Gonzaga's garden at their suburban villa, Palazzo Te, where Gi-
ulio Romano, Raphael's most gifted student, came to work after a dispute at Villa Madama.
Although the planting schemes are long gone, the garden's structure remains: a square
house, built around a cloistered courtyard where a formal garden divided by a central ac-
cess would have been laid out. At the far end, a
giardino segreto
(secret garden) was added
where Duke Federico could court his mistress in private. And beneath it is a shell-encrusted
grotto complete with
giochi d'acqua,
which splashed visiting courtiers standing on the
covered balcony.
