Villa Lante

The Villa Lante

The Villa Lante was exquisite. Yarnie, Henry and I had studied the Villa Lante our first quarter at Cal Poly, and it was fabulous to finally see the garden in person.

The garden evolved over time as a residence for important people connected with the Pope. At the height of the Renaissance, Cardinal Gambara acquired the property, and hired the most brilliant talent of the time to construct the Villa. The site is important because it is the first time that the house was split in half and the garden was elevated as the most important element.

Fountain of the Moores



Another point of importance here is the strong axis of the garden, which is a strong visual line which can't actually be walked. This was an important evolutionary step in Renaissance garden design. The symmetry is perfect.

The hydraulic feats of the garden are a marvel for the time, as well. Water symbolizes the flow of blood and life through the human body. The water was brought from a great distance to the garden, then feeds into the supply for the city of Vitterbo below.


Partier garden






Yarnie, Henry and Kim with one of the houses, or Casini, in the back.















Dave & Laurie




















The water chain. The design is a series of crawdad tails, a play on Cardinal Gambara's name, which means crawdad in Italian. The garden was later acquired by the Lante family for decades, hence the name.



















the Grotto


































Kim in a tree!










Neptune was amazing. I spent an hour sketching him. I'll post my sketches from the trip later.....



Overall, it was an amazing experience to see the Villa Lante. For its size, each of the spaces felt very intimate. I think it is my favorite garden so far, just for how peaceful and lovely everything is. Although the Villa d'Este is more spectacular, this garden has a wonderful human - scale quality about it that makes it serene and contemplative.