Italian villas and their gardens; . ort, the gardens to look into. Mounting to the ter-race, one comes to the third division of the garden, thewild-wood with its irregular levels, through which apath leads to the mount, with a little temple on its sum-mit. This is a rare feature in Italian grounds: in hillyItaly there was small need of creating the artificial hill-ocks so much esteemed in the old English gardens. Inthis case, however, the mount justifies its existence, forit affords a wonderful view over the other side of Romeand the Campagna. Finally, the general impression of the Medici gard
Italian villas and their gardens; . ort, the gardens to look into. Mounting to the ter-race, one comes to the third division of the garden, thewild-wood with its irregular levels, through which apath leads to the mount, with a little temple on its sum-mit. This is a rare feature in Italian grounds: in hillyItaly there was small need of creating the artificial hill-ocks so much esteemed in the old English gardens. Inthis case, however, the mount justifies its existence, forit affords a wonderful view over the other side of Romeand the Campagna. Finally, the general impression of the Medici gardenresolves itself into a sense of fitness, of perfect harmonybetween the material at hand and the use made of architect has used his opportunities to the utmost;but he has adapted nature without distorting it. Insome of the great French gardens, at Vaux and Ver-sailles for example, one is conscious, under all thebeauty, of the immense effort expended, of the vast up-heavals of earth, the forced creating of effects; but it 94. TEMPLE OF jESCULAPIUS, VILLA BORGHESE, ROME ROMAN VILLAS was the great gift of the ItaHan gardener to see the nat-ural advantages of his incomparable landscape, and tofit them into his scheme with an art which concealeditself. While Annibale Lippi, an architect known by only-two buildings, was laying out the Medici garden, thePalatine Hill was being clothed with monumental ter-races by a master to whom the Italian Renaissanceowed much of its stateliest architecture. Vignola, whotransformed the slopes of the Palatine into the sumptu-ous Farnese gardens, was the architect of the mightyfortress-villa of Caprarola, and of the garden-portico ofMondragone ; and tradition ascribes to him also the in-comparable Lante gardens at Bagnaia. In the Farnese gardens he found full play for his giftof grouping masses and for the scenic sense which en-abled him to create such grandiose backgrounds for themagnificence of the great Roman prelates. The Pala-tine gardens
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