Italian Gardens of Tuscany - Dilettante Upcoming Tours - Art History Abroad - Art History Abroad

                                                      21st - 28th April 2012         

                                           Fiesole    Sienese Hills     Lucca

 

Tuscany's wealth ripples like the hills that flow through it. It was home to rich bankers, silk and cloth merchants and several papal families and with that wealth came the Renaissance garden. We shall visit the first humanist gardens that echo with the classical way of life. This is not about an enclosed garden surrounded by great swathes of farming land, but intricate, idealistic, intellectual spaces that displayed the wealth and status of these families.   Fast-forward several centuries and the baton moves to the Anglo -American who didn't just buy houses, but romantic notions of how life in Italy should be. They set about creating gardens that reproduced what they thought was best about Renaissance gardens, some might call these follies, but they brought about a wonderful revival. We will also see a modern example of an Italian garden, still referencing the Renaissance, proving that good design is almost impossible to better.

We start in Fiesole over looking Florence where we will chart the rise of the Renaissance garden. Next, we move into those chocolate dusted hills around Siena, Tuscan landscape at its best and then end in what must be one of the most charming small fortified Italian towns, Lucca. With its pedestrian streets, wonderful churches and fine dining.  Many of the visits are private, we will dine royally in three of the villas and indulge in a spot of wine tasting.

  

Itinerary

Saturday 21^st April      Fiesole

We will fly to Bologna airport followed by private transport to our hotel in Fiesole. In the afternoon we will explore the beautiful village of Fiesole and discover why this was the favourite destination for rich Florentines. We will return to our hotel for drinks on the terrace with spectacular views of Florence and her Duomo. Supper in a local trattoria.

Sunday 22^nd April        Florentine Hills

In the morning we will visit the Villa Medici at Castello, arguably one of the most important Renaissance gardens to survive. Designed by Niccolo Tribolo for Cosimo I not only as a symbol of his power and wealth, but also as a testament of his cultural knowledge. The walled garden is a haven of tranquility after surviving the hectic Florentine roads surrounding it. The cool greens of the parterres, the warm terracotta of the citrus pots and the purple lavender instant sooth you as wander along the paths. There is a fine grotto set into the garden walls with sculptures designed by Tribolo which draws its theme from Ovid's Metamorphosis. This garden is renowned for its 800 strong citrus collection that spends the winter in the Limonaia to be brought out each April. Deep in the bosco above the garden lurks the remarkable statue of Appenino by Ammanati.

After a truly fantastic lunch in Settignano we will visit the gardens of the Villa Gamberaia.  The great gates open onto the most perfect cypress lined avenues one could hope for.  The gardens still retain all of their charm and are laid out in a very human scale unusual for the baroque.  There is a beautiful nymphaeum, a water parterre and an extraordinary bowling green with grass your club's greenkeeper would be proud of.  The villa has a fascinating history with a variety of owners including the Serbian Princess Ghyka and her American companion Joanna Blood.  The veiled princess only left the villa at night to walk through the avenues and swim in the parterres in the moonlight.

Monday 23^rd April       Fiesole

Here lies the beginning. Villa Medici in Fiesole is the earliest example of a humanist garden. The patron was Giovanni de' Medici and the garden was later used by Lorenzo the Magnificent for his Platonic Academy.  The garden was designed to reflect the young humanist's bold tastes and ideal. This villa surburbana emulates the classical way of life that Pliny had made seem so appealing to these young intellectuals. Giovanni's desire is encapsulated in a delightfully simple garden, a far cry from the high Renaissance gardens full of fountains and 'giochi d'aqua', but it does share the desire to entertain. It quickly gathered artists, philosophers and men of letters to the space and with it an awesome reputation for parties. Giovanni's wife threw an impromptu party with dancing girls where guests became 'almost delirious' with pleasure and no one returned to Florence till two in the morning.

We rush headlong in this visit into the world of Revival Renaissance gardens. La Pietra, home of the Acton Family, is now run by NYU as a rather spectacular outpost. But back in 1908, land was cheap and these large villas shunned by Italians as crumbling and too expensive to run. However, if you were an Englishman too short of cash for a pile in Oxfordshire, then Italy offered a steal. You filled your interiors with then overlooked medieval works art, architectural salvage and dilettante-style build your own Renaissance gardens, using what can only be described as a hands on approach. There seemed to be little money for designers, so instead you read your classical texts, got out a set square, gathered together one too many sculptures and made yourself a revival.  Nicholas Dakin-Elliot, the garden curator will guide us through the making and restoration of these charming and somewhat eccentric gardens during a private visit.  En route to our new hotel near Siena we will pause for lunch and wine tasting at Poggio Torselli, a fine 18^th century villa.  The villa boasts magnificently maintained gardens, the right amounts of lemons encircling a beautiful terrace, an original stone irrigation system for those who fancy a little engineering and a glass or two of wine overlooking views of Florence. Need we say more?

After a post lunch snooze on the coach we will arrive at our hotel Borgo Pretale, a beautifully converted medieval hamlet deep in the Tuscan hills.  We will have supper at the hotel.

Tuesday 24^th April       Sienese Hills

Cetinale is perhaps one of the loveliest gardens in this part of Italy. The 16^th century villa and gardens are currently being restored thanks to Lord Lambton who bought the villa from the Chigi family in 1978. There is a faded glory to the garden now, nestled into the Tuscan hills, the gardens borrow a little of England's finest and mix it subtly with the Italian traditions. Cypresses, old statues, hidden gardens, lemons, an olive grove or two, box hedges and a charming if utterly eccentric formally trained orchard. There is something magical about this space. For those up to the challenge there is the steep climb to the Romitorio, a beautiful chapel that reveals (at this point probably literally) breath taking views.

We will have lunch in the Lemonaia at the Castello di Celsa, owned by the Aldobrandi family.  Again, you get a great slice of Tuscan landscape to look at as the castle towers over its views. It's a rather formidable castle with a slightly surprising Virginia creeper clambering around it. There are ghosts of the former gardens, a once impressive water feature, a parterre de broderie swirling appropriately and a small, peaceful chapel still used by the family. The secret here is the untouched countryside around the edges, fantastic woodlands with great chestnuts, oaks and beeches with an under storey of cyclamen and some particularly fine pasture land rich in wildflowers and wildlife.

We will return to our hotel for the afternoon giving us the opportunity to explore the wonderful local walks or a much needed rest in beautiful surroundings of the Borgo.

Wednesday 25^th April             la Foce and Lucca

In the morning we will visit La Foce, home to the writer Iris Origo and her husband Antonio. Iris grew up in the privileged environment of an Anglo-American in Florence, but chose once married to leave this behind for a derelict inn and 3,500 acres of infertile land in the rather barren, arid mountains of southern Tuscany. She employed the landscape architect, Cecil Pinsent to carve out a Renaissance revival garden from this difficult soil. This serene garden with dramatic geometry has all that you might want from a formal Italian garden, with just a hint of romantic gestures to soften the Renaissance ideals. It sits perfectly in its environs, with dramatic views of Tuscan hillsides. It has been described as a garden 'for looking back on'. It is considered one of the finest examples of Pinsent's work and one of the most beautiful Revival Tuscan gardens.

We will have lunch in a local trattoria before setting off on our journey to Lucca.  We will arrive in time to visit Lucca's Botanic Garden, a true curiosity. Built into the walls of Lucca it sits as one of the largest green spaces in the city. It has a rather muddled collection of botanical specimens, it is a little like a great junk shop, there are some botanical hidden gems here. A whimsical collection of food plants native to the region, a truly marvelous collection of those headily scented frangipanis, some fine 19^th century, frost tender trees from China that are truly magnificent in scale and a rather brilliant outdoor carnivorous collection (a real treat).

So many of the Italian botanic gardens are run literally into the ground, under funded and underused. This is rather special, although it still clearly needs money, it's obviously loved both by visitors and locals and this shows. There is a clock tower to climb for impressive views of the city. After joining the Italians for a passagiata and prosecco we will eat at our favourite restaurant in the city.

Thursday 26^th April     Lucca and the Villa Massei

The morning is free to explore the walled city or indulge in a bit of Italian shopping.  For those who wish there will also be a tour of Lucca's churches which will include the wonderful Romanesque cathedral of San Martino which houses the haunting tomb of Ilaria del Caretto .  If you are feeling energetic we can climb the Torre Guinigi to see the large oaks growing on the roof terrace.

In the afternoon we have a private visit to the Villa Massei, the home to Paul Gervais, an American from Maine. The villa and garden was bought in the 80s and Paul, who is an accomplished writer and painter, set about designing a stunning example of a modern take on Renaissance gardening. It has the prerequisite loggia, orange garden, rose garden and orchard. Although there are all the usual suspects, citrus, lavender and wisteria there are some more unusual planting schemes. More than anything else though, this is a home and the garden reflects this. Too often gardens get suspended in time, preserved to a date rather than understanding that as living things they must evolve. It's therefore a pleasure to see an Italian garden actually in use, with generous seating areas, spaces for dining and relaxing, this is a glimpse at what life with a great garden looks like

Friday 27^th April   Lucchese Hills

Our first visit will be to Villa Reale di Marlia, a late Baroque garden designed for Napoleon's sister. Its French influence is apparent with its Parterre de Broderie and its playful statues. Elisa Bonaparte modernized the villa and built the rather brilliant, if comical green theatre with its exedra of clipped yews, with wings, and some rather haunting terracotta statues of Columbine, Harlequin and Pulcinella at the back of the stage. Paganini was appointed by Elisa as her musical director and he often played in the park in this open- air theatre.  There's a wonderful nymphaeum, dark and dripping, a fishpond surrounded by lemons with a lone swan and huge carp, a now rather down at heal water theatre and a great sweep of lawn. It's blissfully unvisited and what with its crumbling statues and rather odd state-run bedding schemes there a general air of a playground about visiting this garden.

 We have a private visit to the gardens of the Villa Grabau with lunch in the beautiful  16^th century villa.  In the afternoon we will visit the Villa Torrigiani.  This garden is a truly a hidden gem, from the tiny village that runs up to its gateway, to the neglected chestnut woodland, this is a fairy tale, enchanting space. The Torrigiani family commissioned the English-style park that has superseded parterres and Italian garden. There are still many wonderful details though, the baroque façade to this beautiful villa, some wonderful statues, a hidden garden to Flora, a family chapel still in use, an elegant pool that evokes Hadrian's villa and nymphaeum of such spectacular beauty, so perfectly preserved that one feels that you are being invited in by an old ghost ready to play the 'giochi d'aqua'.

 Saturday 28^th April

We will travel by private coach to Pisa airport for our flight home.

Further Details