Villa Lante – 26.3.2010

The current entrance to the gardens at the base is the wrong end to experience the gardens. For this reason a group of my classmates closed there eyes while they followed a trusting friend as they traveled to the zenith. They were entertaining to watch after we all had a loud and enjoyable lunch that consisted of little samples of the local food and wine. Surprisingly the garden was a slight let down for me. It was not as large as I expected and due to the season it was not blooming as gloriously as it could be. This garden had similar features to Villa Farnese. One was a grotto like space in a large grassy open space where the cardinals used to enjoy each others company around a large table full of food and drinks. I heard from Carol that occasionally in the summer the servants would turn on the water that would shoot out of the sides of the small open buildings enclosing the space to wet them almost like a joke but more about cooling them off from the scorching summer weather. There were also many trimmed hedges leading you down from the space to a comparable waterfall hand rail down to a fountain further into the structured part of the garden. Down some stairs to the base of that fountain was an open space with a long stone table with a slit in the middle where cool water flowed through. It was another place where meals were eaten and the slit was used not only to bring a tranquil water feature to the table but became a functional drink chiller for the meals. In the next and last plateau was covered with knee high trimmed hedges and tall topiary trees creating a maze to the center where a large circular fountain was placed. Human figures were at the heart of the fountain on the main axis of the garden. Just outside this enclosed garden to the West is Huntington Park. Open fields with small waving hills and tall shady trees beckoned me to take a nap. I laid on an inclined part of a hill in the sun on the soft cool grass barefoot accompanied only by the white daisy flowers and small insects crawling around on my exposed skin. That was the most pleasurable time I have spent outdoors while here in Italy.