Cactuses welcome you at Castello San Giuliano, in Sicily near Catana. The marquess traveled to Brazil in the 50’s and brought back more tropical plants

« L’Italie des Jardins » is the beautiful result of three years of traveling and many thousand years of growing : César Garçon, a garden lover turned photographer, and Pierre de Filippis, who runs a travel agency specialized in European garden tours, united their talents and knowledge to sum up the most important gardens of Italy.

In the medieval gardens of Castello Ruspoli, in Viganello, near Viterbo, boxwood reproduces the owner’s and his sons initials, O, G,S.

Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli reminds us of Roman times

Villa Pisani, in Stra near Venice: the water canal was built by the Italian Marine

Described chronologically from Antiquity to today, they are also listed geographically for the inquisitive traveller. From fountains in Tuscany to palm trees in Sicily, the variety of the Peninsula is immense and makes for a very pleasant read. With their medieval cloisters,  antique gardens and topiaries in the 16 th century, Italian gardens are influenced by the whole Mediterranean world and by history. Many of the popes, developed their estates and established new styles like the Piccolomini in Pienza in the 15 th century.

In Verona, Agostino Giusti had these gardens designed in the manierist style in the late 16 th century

The Medicis in Florence designed gardens and we have paintings by such artists as Ghirlandaio who describes them. In Viterbo, in Stra, on Lake Major, in Ravello and in Catana, so many styles appear in this beautiful anthology. César Garçon has found the best lights and angles to show us his secret Italy and soon we will be on the road!

I wonder what Vincent Scully, who used to teach a course in Italian and French gardens at Yale in the late 70’s, would say of this beautiful and sunny book ? I personally think it is a perfect present for Christmas. (Editions Ulmer, 39€)