Author: Linda Kooluris Dobbs

Publisher: Frances Lincoln

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13:

Visitors to the Vatican Galleries, when they turn away from the works of art, may look out of the long windows and catch glimpses of lawns and trees, or intricate parterres with boxwood hedges. or climbing to the dome of St. Peter's, daunted as they may be by the vertical stairs with walls narrowing as they ascend, they may enjoy marvellous aerial views. And often they wish they could walk in those pleasant paths shadowed by ancient trees.Twenty seven years in the making, The Gardens of the Vatican is a private photographic tour of eight centuries of green thoughts in a green shade.' The several gardens in the Vatican territory reflect the history of gardens in general. In addition to the Persian influenced quadrant gardens of the Tenton Cemetery and the Secret Garden, adorned with lemon trees in pots, there are gardens in the Italian, French,and English styles.The book is rich in anecdote and detail: Pope John XXIII liked to ramble along the pathways and chat with the gardeners. His predecessor Pius XII wanted solitude, so the gardeners were obliged to hide. There is a fragment of the Berlin Wall, a Chinese pavilion given by the Catholics of that country, and a gnarled old olive tree transplanted from the Gethsemane in the Holy Land.The Gardens of the Vaticanoffers a fascinating and inspiring glimpse of a bachelor's refuge, through eight centuries of history.