Villa Borghese: il giardino e Ie architetture

Abstract

This volume studies the territory of the Villa Borghese, just outside the Porta Pinciana in Rome, from the seventeenth century to the present day. For those who only know the Borghesc's somewhat barren attempt at a giardino inglese during the more arid moments of a Roman summer (which was my first impression years ago), its history will come as a refreshing surprise. Beata Di Gaddo, an urban historian, presents in great detail — the illustrations are especially rich and useful — how the gardens were laid out after 1610 in a grid of restrained rectangular beds wholly unlike the contemporary baroque designs at Frascati to the south-cast. As well as examining the various buildings, fountains and statues which have variously decorated its spaces, she examines the interaction between garden, park (including a zoo) and the neighbouring city over four centuries. The author's final ambition, well articulated, is to highlight problems of conservation of such precious examples of Italian patrimony in the context of their extensive public use.