The Italian garden originated in 15th century Italy and was based on symmetry, axial geometry and imposing order over nature. It influenced French and English gardens. Key elements included evergreen hedges and topiaries to provide structure, fountains, statuary and terracing. Examples given are the Villa Medici in Fiesole, one of the oldest Italian Renaissance gardens, and Villa Castello with its central axis, fountains, labyrinth and elaborate grotto decorated with statues.
2. The Giardino all'italiana or Italian
garden is stylistically based on:
• SYMMETRY,
•AXIAL GEOMETRY
•THE PRINCIPLE OF IMPOSING
ORDER OVER NATURE.
It influenced the history of
gardening, especially French
gardens and English gardens.
INTRODUCTION
3. •Italian renaissance gardens
originate from the 15th century in
Italy, where proud villas with
luxurious and extravagant
gardens told the tale of a life
centered on leisure and
prosperity.
•The few who lived in these
magnificent villas and roamed
these fascinating gardens were
fortunate during the time of the
plague, usually avoiding it
entirely.
•The Italian renaissance garden
innovated the art of gardening as
HISTORY….
4. • During this period of experimentation
and invention, the owners of the
villas commissioned architects to build
special pipes that would create
fountains with continuously flowing
water.
• Prior to the Italian Renaissance,
Italian Medieval gardens were
enclosed by walls, and were
devoted to growing vegetables,
fruits and medicinal herbs, or, in
the case of monastery gardens, for
silent meditation and prayer.
• The Italian Renaissance garden
broke down the wall between the
garden, the house, and the
landscape outside.
• The Italian Renaissance garden,
like Renaissance art
and architecture, emerged from the
HISTORY….
5. •ROMAN
INFLUENCE
INDOOR
ORNAMENTAL
HORTICULTURE
The garden was a place of peace and
and tranquillity —a refuge from urban
urban life—and a place filled with
religious and symbolic meanings.As
Roman culture developed and became
became increasingly influenced by
foreign civilizations through trade, the
the use of gardens expanded and
INFLUENCES…
6. Italian Medieval
gardens
• ENCLOSED BYWALLS, AND
AND
• FOR GROWING
VEGETABLES, FRUITS
AND MEDICINAL HERBS
HERBS
• MONASTRIAL GARDENS,
• FOR SILENT MEDITATION
MEDITATIONAND PRAYER.
Generally, monastic garden types
consisted of kitchen gardens,
infirmary gardens, cemetery orchards,
orchards, cloister garths and
vineyards. Individual monasteries
INFLUENCES…
7. Italian Renaissance
gardens
• INSPIRED BY CLASSICAL IDEALSOF
ORDER AND BEAUTY
•FOR PLEASURE OFVIEW OF GARDEN
,LANDSCAPE BEYOND,
• FOR CONTEMPLATION
•FOR ENJOYMENTOFTHE SIGHTS,
SOUNDSAND SMELLS OF GARDEN ITSELF
During the late Renaissance, gardens
became larger and even more symmetrical,
symmetrical, and were filled with fountains,
fountains, statues, grottoes, water organs
organs and other features designed to
delight their owners and amuse and impress
impress visitors.
INFLUENCES…
8. • Geometrical patterned beds , or
patterres are a distinct element
of Italian style.
• Traditionally , Italian garden had
few flowers.
• Display and backdrop for
sculpture.
• Contrast of sun and shades.
• Water features
• Green being dominant color of
the Italian garden.
• There’s no single style in Italian
gardens, they have been shaped
by climate, geography , history
and Roman Renaissance.
• It basically displays careful
design to showcase man’s
control over nature.
• A perfect Italian garden brings
them with fusion of formal and
informal spaces.
• The geometrical plants take
FEATURES…
10. Outlines with evergreen
• The most recognizable elements
of classical Italian garden are
the evergreen outlined beds.
• Box (buxus) hedge, myrtle ,
rosemary and other evergreen
plants are trimmed into a hedge
shape to divide the beds.
• More importantly , the hedges
provided shape and green even
in the garden’s fallow months
because the Renaissance Garden
is meant for year round
pleasure.
Topiary and Statuary
• Topiary: are evergreen plants
shaped and trimmed into
amusing forms, are used to add
ELEMENTS…
11. Fruit Trees
• Renaissance Garden fruit trees
are clipped and well tended.
• Some are planted in pots, others
are planted in open ground,
most often against wall.
• Citrus fruits are often planted
up in pots so they can beset
outdoors during warm months
and indoors during winters.
• Other fruit trees are usually
trained s arches or pegolas ,
when ther are not formed as an
esplandes against a south facing
wall for early ripening.
ELEMENTS…
12. Promenade and Arches
• Evergreen often line pathways
and it’s not always box hedging.
Laurel, Yew, Cypresses ,Fir
,Oaks ,Plum and Junipers trees
are used to create green walls ,
arches and living pergolas.
• Footpaths are designed to offer
varied walks with varied views
through the garden.
Terracing
• The ideal Renaissance garden is
terraced on gently sloping
hillside. The various levels are
joined up by paths and short
flights of steps.
• Terraces are used mainly to
divide the garden into “rooms”
ELEMENTS…
13. Trellises and Climbing Plants
• Trellises are used to “rooms”
and line paths in the garden.
They are trained with climbing
plants like ivy, roses,
honeysuckle, or grape vines.
• The climbing plants are also
trained over structures such as
pergolas, porticos and pavilions.
Flowering climbers are
preferred
Potted plants
• Terra-cotta pots , often covered
with figures and designs are
common decorative features in
Renaissance Gardens.
• Flowers , fruits trees and herbs
can be potted up and moved
ELEMENTS…
14. 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.
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
ELEMENTS…
Fount
ain
machi
ne of
1588
15. Villa Medici in
Fiesole
• The oldest existing Italian
Renaissance garden is at
the Villa Medici in Fiesole, north
of 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.
EXAMPLES…
16. • The garden has two large
terraces, one at the ground
floor level and the other at the
level of the first floor.
• Unlike later gardens, the Villa
Medici did not have a grand
staircase or other feature to link
the two levels.
• 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.
EXAMPLES…
17. Villa Castello,
Tuscany, (1538)
• The garden was laid out on a
gentle slope between the villa
and the hill of Monte Morello.
Tribolo first built a wall across
the slope, dividing it into an
upper garden filled with orange
trees, and a lower garden that
was subdivided into garden
rooms with walls of hedges,
rows of trees and tunnels of
citrus trees and cedars.
• A central axis, articulated by a
series of fountains, extended
from the villa up to the base of
EXAMPLES…
18. • The lower garden had a large
marble fountain that was meant
to be seen against a backdrop of
dark cypresses, with figures
of Hercules and Antaeus. Just
above this fountain, in the
center of the garden, was a
labyrinth formed by cypress,
laurel, myrtle, roses and box
hedges.
• At the far end of the garden and
set against a wall, Tribolo
created an elaborate grotto,
decorated with mosaics,
pebbles, sea shells, imitation
stalactites, and niches with
groups of statues of domestic
EXAMPLES…
19. • Above the grotto, on the
hillside, was small wood,
or bosco, with a pond in the
center. In the pond is a bronze
statue of a shivering giant, with
cold water running down over
his head, which represents
either the month of January or
the Apennine Mountains.
EXAMPLES…
