Italian Villas and Their Gardens

ARCHITECTS AND LANDSCAPE-GARDENERS MENTIONED

ALESSI (GALEAZZO)
1512-1572

Though Alessi was a native of Perugia his best-known buildings were erected in Genoa. Among them are the Villa Pallavicini alle Peschiere, the Villa Imperiali (now Scassi), the Villa Giustiniani (now Cambiaso), the Palazzo Parodi, the public granaries, and the church of the Madonna di Carignano. He also laid out the Strada Nuova in Genoa. His chief works in other places are: the Palazzo Marin (now the Municipio) in Milan; the Palazzo Antinori, and the front of the church of S. Maria del Popolo at Perugia; and the church of the Madonna degli Angeli near Assisi.

ALGARDI (ALESSANDRO)
1602-1654

Algardi, a Bolognese architect, was also distinguished as an engraver and sculptor, and was noted for his figures of children. He built the Villa Belrespiro or Pamphily on the Janiculan, and the Villa Sauli, both in Rome.

AMMANATI (BARTOLOMMEO)
1511-1592

Ammanati, the pupil of Bandinelli and Sansovino, was one of the most distinguished Florentine architects of the sixteenth century, and was also noted for his garden-sculpture. In Florence some of his best work is seen in the Boboli garden and in the court of the Palazzo Pitti, while the bridge of the S. Trinità is considered his masterpiece. In Rome he built the fine façades of the Palazzo Ruspoli and of the Collegio Romano. The rusticated loggia of the Villa Fonte all’ Erta is ascribed to him.

BERNINI (GIOVANNI LORENZO)
1598-1680

Bernini, a Neapolitan by birth, was the greatest Italian architect and sculptor of the seventeenth century. One of his masterpieces in architecture is the church of S. Andrea al Noviziato on the Quirinal, and among his other works in Rome are: the piazza and colonnade of St. Peter’s, the Scala Regia in the Vatican, the Palazzo di Monte Citorio, and the fountains of Trevi and the Tritone; at Pistoja the Villa Rospigliosi, at Terni the cathedral, and at Ravenna the Porta Nuova.

BORROMINI (FRANCESCO)
1599-1667

Borromini, a pupil of Maderna, was, next to Bernini, the most original and brilliant exponent of baroque architecture in Italy. He was born in Lombardy, but worked principally in Rome. Among his best-known buildings are the church of St. Agnes on the Piazza Navona, that of San Carlo alle quattro fontane, and the College of the Propaganda Fide. In conjunction with Bernini and Maderna, he built the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. Some of his best work is seen in the Villa Falconieri at Frascati.

BRAMANTE (DONATO)
1444-1514

Bramante was born at Urbino, but executed all his early work in Milan, producing the church of S. Maria delle Grazie, the Ospedale Maggiore, and the sacristy of San Satiro, which he not only built, but decorated internally. In Lombardy the early Renaissance of building is called the Bramantesque style. Bramante’s works in Rome are: the Tempietto of San Pietro in Montorio, the palace of the Cancelleria, a part of the Vatican, and a part of the Palazzo di San Biagio.

BROWN (LANCELOT)
1715-1783

Lancelot Brown, known as “Capability Brown,” a native of Northumberland, began his career in a kitchen-garden, but, though without artistic training and unable to draw, he became for a time a popular designer of landscape-gardens. He was appointed Royal Gardener at Hampton Court, and laid out the lake at Blenheim. He was considered to excel in water-gardens.

BUONTALENTI (BERNARDO TIMANTE)
1536-1608

Buontalenti, one of the leading Florentine architects of the sixteenth century, was also distinguished as a sculptor and painter. He built the villa of Pratolino and carried on the planning of the Boboli garden. His other works in Florence are: the façades of the Palazzi Strozzi and Riccardi, the Palazzo Acciajuoli (now Corsini), the corridor leading from the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace, and the casino behind San Marco. At Siena, Buontalenti built the Palazzo Reale, and at Pisa, the Loggia de’ Banchi.

CAMPORESI (PIETRO)
B. –, d. 1781

Camporesi, a Roman architect, is mentioned as working with “Moore of Rome” on the grounds of the Villa Borghese.

CARLONE

Several brothers of this name lived in Genoa between 1550 and 1650. They were known as sculptors, painters and gilders, and workers in stucco. The beautiful ceiling of the church of the Santissima Annunziata in Genoa is known to be by one of the Carloni.

CASTELLI (CARLO)
XVII Century

Castelli, who completed the façade of Santa Maria alla Porta, in Milan, was an architect of the school of Maderna. With Crivelli he laid out the gardens of the Isola Bella, near Como.

CASTELLO (GIOVANNI BATTISTA)

CALLED IL BERGAMASCO

1509-1579

Giovanni Castello of Bergamo was a pupil of Alessi’s and distinguished himself in fresco-painting and sculpture. In Genoa he remodelled the Palazzo Pallavicini (now Cataldi) and built the Palazzo Imperiali. Soprani (“Vite de’ Pittori, Scultori ed Architetti Genovesi”) says that Il Bergamasco was court-architect to Philip II of Spain and worked on the Escorial. Bryan, in his Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, states that Il Bergamasco was employed on the Prado by Charles V, while his son worked for Philip II.

CRIVELLI
XVII Century

This landscape-gardener worked with Carlo Castelli on the grounds of the Isola Bella, near Como.

FERRI (ANTONIO)
XVII Century

Ferri, a Florentine architect, built the Villa Corsini near Florence, and remodelled the Palazzo Corsini on the Lungarno.

FONTANA (CARLO)
1634-1714

Fontana, one of the most versatile and accomplished architects of his day, was born at Bruciato, near Milan. He was called to Rome as architect of St. Peter’s, and collaborated with Bernini on several occasions. In Rome he built the palace of Monte Citorio, the façade of San Marcello, and the Palazzo Torlonia. As a villa-architect his most famous creation is the Garden Palace of Prince Liechtenstein in Vienna. He built the palace on the Isola Bella, and the Villa Chigi, at Cetinale, near Siena, is also attributed to him. He was the author of works on the Vatican and on the antiquities of Rome.

FONTANA (GIOVANNI)
1546-1614

Giovanni Fontana, of Melide, near Lugano, excelled in everything relating to hydraulic work. At the Villa Borghese in Rome, and in the principal villas at Frascati (Aldobrandini, Taverna, Mondragone), he introduced original designs for the waterworks. In Rome he built the Palazzi Giustiniani and de’ Gori, and made the design for the Fontana dell’ Acqua Paola, though he did not live to carry it out.

FRIGIMELICA (COUNT GIROLAMO)
XVIII Century

Count Frigimelica, an accomplished Venetian nobleman, built the church of S. Gaetano at Vicenza, and collaborated with Prati in the construction of the Villa Pisani at Strà.

JUVARA (FILIPPO)
1685-1735

Juvara, the most original and interesting Italian architect of the eighteenth century, was a pupil of Carlo Fontana’s. His most important work is the church of the Superga near Turin, and his principal buildings are found in or near Turin: among them being the hunting-lodge of Stupinigi and the churches of Santa Cristina and Santa Maria in Carmine. The church of San Filippo in Turin was rebuilt by Juvara, and the royal villa at Rivoli, as well as other villas in the environs of Turin, show his hand. He remodelled the Palazzo Madama in Rome; at Lucca he finished the Palazzo Reale; at Mantua the dome on the church of S. Andrea is by him, and in Lisbon and Madrid, respectively, he built the royal palaces.

LE NÔTRE (ANDRÉ)
1613-1700

Le Nôtre, the greatest of French landscape-gardeners, first studied painting under Simon Vouet, together with Mignard, Lebrun and Lesueur, then succeeded his father as superintendent of the royal gardens. Among his great works are the gardens at Vaux-le-Vicomte, at Sceaux, at Chantilly, and the cascades and park at Saint-Cloud. The park of Versailles, the gardens of the Trianon, of Clagny and of Marly, are considered his masterpieces. When he visited Italy he remodelled the grounds of the Villa Ludovisi. He was frequently consulted by the Elector of Brandenburg and other notable foreigners.

LIGORIO (PIRRO)
1493-1580

Ligorio, the Neapolitan architect, was also distinguished as antiquary, sculptor and engineer; he worked much in sgraffiti. He built the beautiful Villa Pia in the Vatican gardens, and the Villa d’Este at Tivoli, and made additions to the Vatican. The Library in Turin possesses his numerous manuscripts, some of which have been published. His best-known works are “An Attempt to Restore Ancient Rome” and “The Restoration of Hadrian’s Villa,” the plates for which were engraved on copper by Francesco Contini in 1751.

LIPPI (ANNIBALE)
B. –, d. 1581

Lippi is generally said to have been the son of Nanni di Baccio Bigio, the architect and sculptor, though some biographers declare them to have been the same person. Assuming Lippi to have had a separate identity, only two of his works are known: the church of S. Maria di Loreto, near Spoleto, and the Villa Medici in Rome. His fame rests on the latter, which became the model of the Roman maison de plaisance.

LONGHENA (BALDASSARE)
1604-1682

Longhena, the most distinguished architect of the late Renaissance in Venetia, gave all his time and work to his native city. Among the buildings he erected there are: S. Maria della Salute, S. Maria al Scalzi, the Ospedaletto, the cloister and staircase in San Giorgio Maggiore, the Palazzo Pesaro, and the Palazzo Rezzonico (now Zelinsky).

LUNGHI OR LONGHI (MARTINO) THE ELDER
XVI Century

Lunghi, born at Viggiù in the Milanese, in the second half of the sixteenth century, built the Villa Mondragone at Frascati, in 1567, for Cardinal Marco d’Altemps. The villa was enlarged by Gregory VII, and later by Paul V and his nephew, Cardinal Scipione Borghese.

MARCHIONNE (CARLO)
1704-1780

Marchionne was the architect of the Villa Albani near Rome, built in 1746.

MICHELANGELO (SIMONE BUONARROTI)
1475-1564

The great architect, sculptor and painter, was born in Florence, where he built the Laurentian Library and the chapel of S. Lorenzo, with the cupola of the sacristy. In Rome he built the Palazzo de’ Conservatorii on the Capitoline hill, the cornice of the Palazzo Farnese, the Porta del Popolo and the Porta Pia. His model for the dome of St. Peter’s was carried out except as to the lantern. Tradition assigns to him the Villa ai Collazzi (now Bombicci) near Florence.

MONTORSOLI (FRA GIOVANNI ANGELO)
1507-1563

Fra Giovanni Montorsoli, a Florentine monk of the Servite Order, was a sculptor, and studied under Michelangelo. He was early called to Genoa, where he decorated the church of San Matteo (the church of the Doria family) and built the famous villa in the harbour for the Admiral Andrea Doria. The Villa Imperiali, at San Fruttuoso, near Genoa, is also attributed to Montorsoli. One of his best works is the high altar in the church of the Servi at Bologna.

MOORE (JACOB)
1740-1793

Moore, a Scotch landscape-painter—known as “Moore of Rome”—was patronized by Prince Borghese, and remodelled the grounds of the Villa Borghese in the style of the jardin anglais.

MORA
XVII Century

A Roman engineer of the name built some of the waterworks on the Isola Bella, near Como, in the seventeenth century.

NOLLI (ANTONIO)
XVIII Century

Nolli laid out the grounds of the Villa Albani near Rome, in 1746.

NOLLI (PIETRO)
XVIII Century

Pietro Nolli is also mentioned as one of the landscape-gardeners who laid out the Villa Albani.

OLIVIERI (ORAZIO) OF TIVOLI
XVI Century

Olivieri was employed as an engineer of the waterworks at the Villa d’Este at Tivoli and the Villa Aldobrandini at Frascati.

PALLADIO (ANDREA)
1508-1580

Palladio, the great Venetian architect, was born at Vicenza. He turned the development of Italian Renaissance architecture in the direction of pure classicalism, and was a master of proportion in building. At Vicenza he rebuilt the Sala della Ragione, and built the Palazzi Tiene and Valmarana and the Teatro Olimpico; while the Villa Capra or Rotonda, near Vicenza, is his work, and also the Villa Giacomelli at Maser. In Venice he erected the churches of San Giorgio Maggiore and Il Redentore, also the Villa Malcontenta near Fusina on the Brenta. Palladio published a “Treatise on Architecture” and “The Antiquities of Rome.”

PARIGI (GIULIO)
B. –, d. 1635

Parigi was a Florentine architect, engineer and designer. As far as is known, he worked entirely in Florence and its environs. He is the architect of the court and arcade of Poggio Imperiale, the cloister of S. Agostino, the Palazzo Marucelli (now Fenci), the Palazzo Scarlatti, and a part of the Uffizi.

PERUZZI (BALDASSARE)
1481-1537

Peruzzi, who was both architect and painter, divided his time between Rome and Siena, where he was born. He built the Villa Vicobello near Siena, as well as that of Belcaro. The well-known Palazzo Massimi alle Colonne in Rome is his work, also the Villa Trivulzio near Rome.

PIRANESI (GIOVANNI BATTISTA)
1720-1778

Piranesi, the famous Venetian etcher and engraver, was specially noted for his etchings of famous buildings, and has been called “The Rembrandt of Architecture.” He was also an architect, and worked on the church of S. Maria del Popolo in Rome. While there he also remodelled the chapel of the Priory of the Knights of Malta, and probably laid out the grounds. Piranesi published over twenty folio volumes of engravings and etchings.

PONZIO (FLAMINIO)
1575-1620

Ponzio, a Lombard architect, built the loggia of the Villa Mondragone at Frascati, and the Palazzo Sciarra, and finished the Borghese Chapel in the church of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome.

PORTA (GIACOMO DELLA)
1541-1604

Della Porta, a Milanese architect, was a pupil of Vignola’s. His great work was the finishing of the dome of St. Peter’s in Rome, in doing which he followed Michelangelo’s plan, but improved the curve. His other works in Rome were: the churches of Il Gesù, S. Luigi de’ Francesi, S. Catarina de’ Funari, the Palazzo Paluzzi, the façade of the Palazzo Chigi, the famous fountains in the Piazza d’Araceli and the Piazza Navona (for which Bernini supplied the sculpture), and the Fontana delle Tartarughe. In Genoa he finished the church of the S. S. Annunziata, and he was employed on the Villa d’Este at Tivoli and the Villa Aldobrandini at Frascati.

PRATI
XVIII Century

Prati collaborated with Count Frigimelica in building the Villa Pisani, at Strà near Venice, in the eighteenth century.

RAINALDI (GIROLAMO)
1570-1655

Rainaldi was a Roman and his principal works are in Rome. He planned the church of S. Agnese; built the façade of S. Andrea della Valle, the façade of S. Maria in Campitelli, and the Palazzo Pamphily on the Piazza Navona. He added two pavilions to the Farnesina, and designed the grounds of the Villa Borghese and the gardens of the Villa Mondragone at Frascati. In Bologna he built the church of S. Lucia.

RAPHAEL SANZIO
1483-1520

Raphael succeeded Bramante as chief architect of St. Peter’s. His most important villa is the famous Villa Madama near Rome. The Farnesina in Rome was built by him, and he laid out the gardens of the Vatican. His other works in Rome are the Palazzo Caffarelli (now Stoppani) and the Capella Chigi. In Florence he designed the façades of the church of San Lorenzo and of the Palazzo Pandolfini (now Nencini).

REPTON (HUMPHREY)
1752-1818

Repton, who was born at Bury St. Edmunds, began life as a merchant, but having failed in his business, became a landscape-gardener. He published “Observations on Landscape Gardening” (1803), and is the best-known successor of “Capability Brown” in the naturalistic style of gardening.

ROMANO (GIULIO DEI GIANNUZZI—ALSO CALLED GIULIO PIPPI)
1492-1546

As Raphael’s pupil, Giulio Romano painted the architectural backgrounds of Raphael’s frescoes in the Vatican, and this led to his studying architecture. His masterpiece is the Palazzo del Tè at Mantua, where he also built a part of the Palazzo Ducale. He carried out Raphael’s decorations in the Villa Madama.

RUGGIERI (ANTONIO MARIA)
XVIII Century

Ruggieri built the Villa Alario (now Visconti di Saliceto) on the Naviglio near Milan, and the façade of the church of S. Firenze in Florence. He also remodelled the interior of Santa Felicità in Florence, and in Milan he built the Palazzo Cusani.

SANGALLO (ANTONIO GIAMBERTI DA)
1455-1534

Antonio da Sangallo was a brother of Giuliano, and famous as a carver of crucifixes. He altered Hadrian’s tomb in Rome into the Castle of St. Angelo, and laid out a part of the Vatican gardens. The church of the Madonna di S. Biagio in Montepulciano and the fortress of Cività Castellana were built by him.

SANGALLO, THE YOUNGER (ANTONIO CORDIANI DA)
1483-1546

This Sangallo was a nephew of the other Antonio, and a pupil of Bramante’s. After Raphael’s death he became the leading architect of St. Peter’s. The fortress at Cività Vecchia is his work. In Rome he planned the outer gardens of the Vatican and built the right-hand chapel in S. Giacomo degli Spagnuoli, the beautiful Palazzo Marchionne Baldassini, the Palazzo Sacchetti, and the greater part of the Palazzo Farnese.

SANGALLO (GIULIANO GIAMBERTI DA)
1445-1516

Giuliano da Sangallo, the Florentine architect, was also noted as an engineer and a carver in wood. His great work is the villa at Poggio a Caiano near Florence, with a hall having the widest ceiling then known. He also built the Villa Petraia at Castello, near Florence, and in or near Florence the sacristy and cloister of San Spirito, the cloister for the Frati Eremitani di S. Agostino, and the villa of Poggio Imperiale. Among his other works are: the Palazzo Rovere near San Pietro in Vincoli, in Rome, and the Palazzo Rovere at Savona. Sangallo also constructed many fortresses. After Bramante’s death he worked with Raphael on St. Peter’s.

SANSOVINO (JACOPO TATTI)
1487-1570

Sansovino, though a Florentine by birth, worked principally in Venice. He was equally distinguished as sculptor and architect. In the latter capacity he built in Venice the Zecca or Mint, the Loggietta, the Palazzo Cornaro, the Palazzo Corner della Cá Grande, the Scala d’Oro in the Doge’s palace, the churches of San Martino and San Fantino, and his masterpiece, the Library of San Marco. In Rome the Palazzo Gaddi (now Nicolini) was built by him.

SAVINO (DOMENICO)
XVIII Century

Savino is mentioned among the landscape-gardeners who remodelled the grounds of the Villa Borghese.

TITO (SANTI DI) OF FLORENCE
1536-1603

Santi di Tito of Florence was known as an historical painter, and also as a builder of villas at Casciano and Monte Oliveto. An octagonal villa at Peretola was built by him, and he did some decorative work in the Villa Pia. In Florence he built the Palazzo Dardinelli.

IL TRIBOLO (NICCOLÓ PERICOLI)
1485-1550

Il Tribolo, the Florentine sculptor, studied under Sansovino. He became known for his beautiful designs in tile-work, of which the Villa Castello near Florence shows many examples. He collaborated with Ammanati in laying out the Boboli garden, and the great grotto at Castello is his work.

UDINE (GIOVANNI DA)
1487-1564

Giovanni da Udine, born, as his name indicates, in the chief city of the province of Friuli, was one of the most celebrated decorative artists of his day. He studied under Giorgione and Raphael, and became noted for his stained glass and for the invention of a stucco as durable as that of the Romans. His stucco-work in the Villa Madama and in the loggias of the Vatican is famous, and part of the decoration of the Borgia rooms in the Vatican is his work. Michelangelo’s chapel of the Medici in Florence was painted and decorated in stucco by Udine, and he carried out, in painting, some of Raphael’s designs for the great hall of the Farnesina. The Palazzo Grimani in Venice and the Palazzo Massimi alle Colonne in Rome were partly decorated by him.

VAGA (PIERIN DEL)
1500-1547

Del Vaga, whose real name was Pietro Buonaccorsi, was born near Florence. He was a pupil of Raphael’s, and after the latter’s death was employed in finishing a part of his work in the Vatican. Almost all del Vaga’s work was done in Genoa, where he painted the state apartments in the Villa Doria. The charming plaster decorations in the Palazzo Pallavicini (now Cataldi) are by him, and also the Hercules cycle in the Palazzo Odero (now Mari).