A must-have for garden lovers, this stunning book introduces private Italian properties never before seen by an international public. Located on the properties of well-known Italian families, such as the Agnellis, the thirteen gardens showcased in this book are the creations of one of Italy’s most renowned landscape designers, Paolo Pejrone. Representative of Italy’s unique biodiversity, the lavish gardens are located in various parts of the country, from the tranquil Alpine region of Piedmont and the sunny Riviera seashore, to Tuscany, Rome, Corsica, and the Mediterranean island of Isola d’Elba. With stunning specially commissioned photographs, this volume offers readers the rare opportunity to enter these exquisite private spaces—and to delve into the idyllic beauty of Italian garden design.
This elegant new volume combines Edith Wharton's sensual prose tour of Italy's most gorgeous gardens with stunning photographs that capture these lush spaces in all their past, present, and enduringly haunting beauty. Wharton devotees, gardeners, and Italophiles alike will delight in following in the writer's turn-of-the-century footsteps. 30 historical bandw photos. 180 modern color photos.
With 125 uncomplicated recipes and illustrated with charming, evocative watercolors, these lyrical passages and images let readers experience the magic of the Italian garden without leaving their kitchens.
Thirty years ago journalist Joan Marble and her sculptor husband, Robert Cook, bought an unpromising piece of land near the little hamlet of Canale, north of Rome where the ancient Etruscans once lived. Here they built a house and, more important, set out to start a wonderful garden. All was not easy, however. They faced blank incomprehension from the local inhabitants. "Why do you want to have a garden here?" they were asked. "There's no water, the ground is like cement, it's too cold in winter and too hot in summer, it never rains. . . ." But Joan and Robert's enthusiasm for the land, their ignorance of the obstacles that faced them, their downright obstinacy and the unexpected friends who helped them -- all served to conquer the intransigent terrain. "I fell in love with Etruria one chilly evening in the middle of winter," says Joan. "They were having a New Year's Eve festival in a little town near Campagnano, and a group of local boys dressed in Renaissance costumes were marching in a torchlight parade down the main street. As I stood there in the cold watching the flames lurching to the sky, I realized that I felt very much at home in this ancient place. If ever we should decide to move to the country, this was the kind of place I would choose....." Inspirational, aspirational, enchanting -- this is an account of a passion for a place and an obsession with a garden that will charm all who love Italy, gardening, and life.
Since the earliest Roman settlements, Italians have been expertly cultivating their land into beautiful and creative displays of nature, where terraces and walkways, plants and flowers, water and statuary are combined to provide a unique ad inspiring setting. The Italian garden has greatly evolved throughout the ages, taking on different forms, favoring different plants, and serving different purposes. Early Italian gardens made use of citrus, still regarded as an essential element for its bright fruit and shiny leaves. The ancient art of the topiary was revived in the Renaissance for its drama and elegance, and the refined parterre was developed to spread forth from the great palazzos and provide a dramatic view from their upper stories. Later, in the nineteenth century, the influence of the English garden took hold, with its meandering paths, asymmetrical lakes, and blossoming trees. In "Italian Gardens, author Judith Wade explores more than five hundred years of this tradition, discussing each of these developments and transporting the reader to thirty-seven of the most captivating gardens of Italy. Eleven regions are visited, from Lombardy and Piedmont in the north, to the island of Sicily in the south. Both small and grandiose, historic and contemporary gardens are featured. Travel with Wade to the aristocratic Villa Favorita in Lugano, where an avenue of cypresses welcomes those who approach; the English-style park of Villa Novare Bertani in Verona, with its seventeenth-century wine cellar; the eighteenth-century Avenue of the Camelias at Lucca's Villa Reale, where the American artist John Singer Sargent painted; and great examples of contemporary Italian landscapes, likeLa Mortella in Naples, which boasts more than eight hundred species of rare plants. As "living works of art" these changing displays of nature grow and bloom with the seasons. Smell the roses and lavender, feel the light
Lake Como, 1919. The garden of Villa Marchese was once a sight to behold. Now, overgrown and unloved, the flowers that once bloomed are nothing but a reminder of the tragic events of Flora Marchese's death. When horticulturist Violet Honeywell is commissioned to restore the once exquisite garden, she immediately accepts and sets off on a life-changing adventure. Violet instantly becomes enchanted by the Italian way of life, and under the beguiling warmth of the Bellagio sun, she falls in love with a man who can never truly be hers - Flora's grandson. But when a discovery at the Lake uncovers buried truths that have haunted the family for decades, Violet starts to delve deeper into the dark secrets of their past, and she quickly begins to realise that not everything in the Marchese family is what it seems . . . ---- Why readers love Charlotte Betts: 'Lush, romantic and full of intrigue' Tracy Rees, Richard & Judy bestselling author 'A deeply romantic novel whose vivid characters will linger in your mind' Margaret Kaine 'Romantic, poignant and gripping . . . a fabulous holiday read' Deborah Swift 'A stunning and captivating read . . . full of drama, love, loss and life' Book Literati 'Lingers in the heart long after the final page is turned . . . a must read for anyone who wants to be absorbed as well as utterly enchanted' Carol McGrath 'A compelling story, beautifully written and brought alive with rich historical detail' Liz Harris
Striking out on her own path of independence, what will she leave in her wake? Set amid the wealth and beauty of sixteenth-century Europe, Judith Lennox's novel, The Italian Garden, transports her readers to a tempestuous world of love and betrayal. Perfect for fans of Rachel Hore and Dinah Jefferies. The du Chantonnay estate of Marigny on the Loire consumes the desires of two powerful men - bitter, worldly-wise Guillaume du Chantonnay, and ruthless Hamon de Bohun - who will stop at nothing to possess it. Toby Crow, a young soldier of fortune, is also drawn to Marigny, for his mysterious origins are somehow bound up with the chateau. Italy's most priceless beauty, exotic Joanna Zulian, would crown Marigny's perfection. But Joanna, bred a vagabond and newly escaped from a stifling marriage to the artist Gaetano, vows never again to be possessed by any man, nor obey any laws but her own. With the help of the adoring English doctor Martin and a reluctant Toby, Joanna forges her own path through war-ravaged Europe. And when Joanna comes at last to Marigny, it is to weave the whole intricate tale of the de Bohuns, the du Chantonnays, and her own colourful life into the Italian garden she designs. It will be her own legacy, a legacy fraught with danger... What readers are saying about The Italian Garden: 'I loved the time period, the colourful background of Venice... the development of the characters and the twists in the plot. Great writing' 'Another wonderful story of power and greed, but always with the thread of passion' 'Thoroughly absorbing read, was gripped throughout'
Italian gardens vary widely according to their historical date and geographic location. This collection approaches Italian gardens of all periods, from the middle ages to modern times, and it ranges widely throughout the peninsula, from Genoa to Sicily, the Veneto to Liguria, and Ferrara to Florence. The authors are a distinguished group of Italian, American, English and German scholars, with different backgrounds in art history, literature, architecture, planning, and cultural history. The explorations of the subject from these different perspectives illuminate not only their own disciplines, but are concerned to make many fresh connections between garden art and the politics of nationalism, between the art of gardens and urban infrastructure, between cultural movements like freemasonry and site planning, between design and planting materials. The book offers therefore a narrative of the garden by selecting ten high points of its history, which are introduced with a consideration by the volume editor of the fresh challenges to contemporary Italian garden history.
