Learning in Retirement Program, Carleton University

Spring, 2017

A Flourishing Art:

Sculpture and Architecture in the Gardens and Woods of Italian

Renaissance Villas

Abstract:

In the sixteenth century, the villas of Italy’s political and ecclesiastical elite often included large

areas of land dedicated to formal gardens and woods. Adding to the natural beauty of these

spaces, artists were hired to ornament the gardens with spectacular and sometimes bizarre

artworks, such as a grotto carved into the shape of a screaming head, which one could enter

through its gaping mouth, and a bearded giant dripping with stalactites crouched in the side of an

artificial hill. In this course, we will explore the art of six of the most extraordinary Renaissance

gardens in central Italy.

Proposed Lecture Series:

PART I: The Medici Villas in Tuscany

1) The Villa Medici di Castello

After Cosimo I de’Medici was appointed duke of Florence in 1537, one of the first

projects he undertook was the garden in his family’s villa in Castello, northwest of

Florence. In this class, we will look at the relationship between the design of the

garden and the public persona that Cosimo was fashioning for himself.

2) The Boboli Gardens in Florence

In 1549, Eleonora di Toledo, the Duchess of Florence and wife of Cosimo I

de’Medici, purchased the Palazzo Pitti, located across the Arno River from the ducal

palace. The large stretch of land between the Pitti and the Porta Romana was

subsequently transformed into a magnificent garden, known as the Boboli Gardens.

This lecture will focus on the grottoes, fountains, and other works that were executed

and enjoyed under the direction of Eleonora, Cosimo, and their sons Francesco and

Ferdinando.

3) The Villa Medici di Pratolino

Francesco I de’Medici dedicated a great deal of his attention to the Medici villa in

Pratolino and its gardens, where he would often retreat with his mistress and then

wife, Bianca Cappello. Sculptures, grottoes, surprise waterworks, and automata

inspired in part by Francesco’s interest in alchemy once filled the landscape. Some of

these marvels survive; others, we will discuss in relation to extant drawings, prints,

and accounts from visitors.

PART II: The Grand Villas Around Rome

1) The Villa d’Este in Tivoli

After being made governor of Tivoli, Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este began transforming a

local monastery into his own private luxurious villa. Today, we will discuss how the

artworks in the sloping gardens of this villa celebrate the rich ancient Roman ruins of

the region, as well as how Tivoli’s abundant water supply is showcased through

spectacular fountains, ponds, and trick waterworks.

2) The Villa Lante in Bagnaia

The Villa Lante in the small town of Bagnaia was inherited by Cardinal Giovanni

Francesco Gambara in 1568, at which point he hired Jacopo Vignola to transform the

surrounding landscape. Part formal garden and part wooded park, it was designed to

create the impression of a new Golden Age.

3) The Sacro Bosco in Bomarzo

Vicino Orsini’s park known as the Sacro Bosco (the Sacred Woods) is one of the

strangest landscapes of the sixteenth century. In this lecture, we will explore the

complex and ambiguous meanings of the monstrous sculptures and the architectural

works, as well as the often playful physical engagement of visitors with the art.