DOI Artikel:
Floryan, Margrethe: Sacred woods and sacred ways: Ariccia revisited
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14576#0052
4o
МЛI<(tRI llll FLORYAN
3. The Chigi Garden in Ariccia; the laurel alley
aspects of the Ariccian héritage hereby come to the fore once again, challenging our ideas of Nature and
horticulture.
HUNTING AND HORTICULTURE
White deer used to count among the unique features of the "selva oscura delia Valle Aricina". Yet,
poaching was one of the factors leading to the extirpation of the game. As part of the efforts to bring back
some of the constituent éléments of the historie biotope, a few specimen were introduced again in 1989. The
fauna has grown significantly. Today, any visiter will see and smell that the deer appreciate their much varied
and lush surroundings. And the hunting tradition that dates back to the beginning of the 17th century when
the Savellis reigned here has been revived.
The Savellis also saw to that a clearing was made for a vineyard to be planted. Cultivation of vegeta-
bles of course also ensured deliveries for weekdays and fests, yet thèse crops were harvested from beds
placed on the southern slopes deep below the palace and church complex7. In the dense greenery on the cool
northern side of the palace, the Savellis had a few more éléments implemented - with the aim of pleasure,
not utility. The laurel trees forming an alley date back to the Savelli era (Fig. 3). The alley leads up to the
aviary, constructed in 1628 (Fig. 4). Here the high-ranking family and their noble guests took pleasure in the
colours and the songs of the exotic birds. Today the audience is différent, but the recreational aspect remains
very much the same, the back niche of the aviary now being used as a set piece for musical or theatrical
performances.
WATERS AND WALKS
Mario Chigi (1594-1667), a brother of Pope Alexander VII, acquired the estate in 1661. Within a few
years, the garden was furnished with some new features. Emphasis was on pleasure and joy - not on martial
or stilted manners8. A séries of fountains were to embellish the grounds. One such fountain, still in existence,
In generał though, the sources tell very little of the utilitarian aspects of life in Ariccia in those days.
x In the boki terrain of the Valle Aricina, with its extraordinary végétation, a pleasure garden Икс the one Flavio Chigi.
a nepheu of Pope Alexander VII, enjoyed at his Tuscan Cetinale could not at ail have been realized. Neither the landscape nor the
МЛI<(tRI llll FLORYAN
3. The Chigi Garden in Ariccia; the laurel alley
aspects of the Ariccian héritage hereby come to the fore once again, challenging our ideas of Nature and
horticulture.
HUNTING AND HORTICULTURE
White deer used to count among the unique features of the "selva oscura delia Valle Aricina". Yet,
poaching was one of the factors leading to the extirpation of the game. As part of the efforts to bring back
some of the constituent éléments of the historie biotope, a few specimen were introduced again in 1989. The
fauna has grown significantly. Today, any visiter will see and smell that the deer appreciate their much varied
and lush surroundings. And the hunting tradition that dates back to the beginning of the 17th century when
the Savellis reigned here has been revived.
The Savellis also saw to that a clearing was made for a vineyard to be planted. Cultivation of vegeta-
bles of course also ensured deliveries for weekdays and fests, yet thèse crops were harvested from beds
placed on the southern slopes deep below the palace and church complex7. In the dense greenery on the cool
northern side of the palace, the Savellis had a few more éléments implemented - with the aim of pleasure,
not utility. The laurel trees forming an alley date back to the Savelli era (Fig. 3). The alley leads up to the
aviary, constructed in 1628 (Fig. 4). Here the high-ranking family and their noble guests took pleasure in the
colours and the songs of the exotic birds. Today the audience is différent, but the recreational aspect remains
very much the same, the back niche of the aviary now being used as a set piece for musical or theatrical
performances.
WATERS AND WALKS
Mario Chigi (1594-1667), a brother of Pope Alexander VII, acquired the estate in 1661. Within a few
years, the garden was furnished with some new features. Emphasis was on pleasure and joy - not on martial
or stilted manners8. A séries of fountains were to embellish the grounds. One such fountain, still in existence,
In generał though, the sources tell very little of the utilitarian aspects of life in Ariccia in those days.
x In the boki terrain of the Valle Aricina, with its extraordinary végétation, a pleasure garden Икс the one Flavio Chigi.
a nepheu of Pope Alexander VII, enjoyed at his Tuscan Cetinale could not at ail have been realized. Neither the landscape nor the