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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.
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