DOI chapter:
I. Florentine villas
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61216#0077
ITALIAN VILLAS
well the beauty of a long stretch of greensward was
understood ; and at the Villa Capponi, at Arcetri, on
the other side of Florence, there is a fine oblong of old
turf adjoining the house, said to be the only surviving
fragment of the original garden. These bits of sward
were always used near the house, where their full value
could be enjoyed, and were set like jewels in clipped
hedges or statue-crowned walls. Though doubtless
intended chiefly for games, they were certainly valued
for their aesthetic effect, for in many Italian gardens
steep grass alleys flanked by walls of beech or ilex are
seen ascending a hillside to the temple or statue which
forms the crowning ornament of the grounds. In
Florence a good example of this tapis vert, of which
Le Notre afterward made such admirable use in the
moist climate of France, is seen at the Villa Danti, on
the Arno near Campiobbi.
Close to the ducal villas of Castello lies a country-
seat possessing much of the intimate charm which they
lack. This is Prince Corsini’s villa, the finest example
of a baroque country house near Florence. The old
villa, of which the typical Tuscan elevation may still be
seen at the back, was remodelled during the latter half
of the seventeenth century, probably by Antonio Ferri,
who built the state saloon and staircase of the Palazzo
Corsini on the Lungarno. The Villa Corsini lies in the
plain, like Castello, and has before it the usual walled
semicircle. The front of the villa is frankly baroque, a
48
well the beauty of a long stretch of greensward was
understood ; and at the Villa Capponi, at Arcetri, on
the other side of Florence, there is a fine oblong of old
turf adjoining the house, said to be the only surviving
fragment of the original garden. These bits of sward
were always used near the house, where their full value
could be enjoyed, and were set like jewels in clipped
hedges or statue-crowned walls. Though doubtless
intended chiefly for games, they were certainly valued
for their aesthetic effect, for in many Italian gardens
steep grass alleys flanked by walls of beech or ilex are
seen ascending a hillside to the temple or statue which
forms the crowning ornament of the grounds. In
Florence a good example of this tapis vert, of which
Le Notre afterward made such admirable use in the
moist climate of France, is seen at the Villa Danti, on
the Arno near Campiobbi.
Close to the ducal villas of Castello lies a country-
seat possessing much of the intimate charm which they
lack. This is Prince Corsini’s villa, the finest example
of a baroque country house near Florence. The old
villa, of which the typical Tuscan elevation may still be
seen at the back, was remodelled during the latter half
of the seventeenth century, probably by Antonio Ferri,
who built the state saloon and staircase of the Palazzo
Corsini on the Lungarno. The Villa Corsini lies in the
plain, like Castello, and has before it the usual walled
semicircle. The front of the villa is frankly baroque, a
48