In Italy, one of the places in the heart of King Charles III of England is Villa Lante di Bagnaia (open to visitors with free admission on the initiative of MiBACT on Sunday 2 October) with a wonderful park with Italian gardens, beautiful fountains and the two Gambara buildings. and Montalto.
A place very dear to King Charles III of England (then Prince) who expressed the desire to be able to sleep inside the jewel of Bagnaia and to make it possible was the mediation of the Prime Minister.
It was an event that caused many headaches to the organizers because the sixteenth-century residence was now unadorned.
It was arranged in a hurry to be able to make the Prince come to Bagnaia to sleep together with twenty-five students of the Summer School of Civil Architecture, born precisely by the will of the Prince of Wales.
Villa Lante di Bagnaia,
is one of the most famous Italian mannerist gardens of the sixteenth century
.
Designed by Jacopo Barozzi da
Vignola
, its construction began in 1511 but was completed around 1566 on commission from Cardinal Gianfrancesco Gambara.
However, the villa did not acquire this name until it passed into the hands of Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere in the 17th century.
Villa Lante consists of two buildings, almost identical, even if built by different owners in different periods.
It was Cardinal Gianfrancesco Gambara who gave his name to the first.
After his death in 1587, he was succeeded by the nephew of Pope Sixtus V, Cardinal Alessandro Peretti di Montalto, who completed the project and built the second one.
The gardens are the main attraction of Villa Lante, with their spectacular water features, waterfalls and fountains.
Entering through the rusticated arch of the main entrance, you find yourself in a perfectly regular square where the boxwood is molded and modeled to form decorative motifs that surround small fountains and sculptures.
The most characteristic feature of this parterre is the complex fountain placed at its center, formed by four basins, separated by cordoned paths, with parapets decorated with stone pine cones and decorative urns that intersect the water.
In the heart of the complex, a central basin contains the famous Fountain of the Moors by Giambologna.
Above the main parterre the visitor can climb through oaks, holm oaks and plane trees, glimpsing fountains and sculptures that open up through unexpected views.
You then arrive at the first of the ascending terraced gardens: here, housed between two stone stairways, is the Fontana dei Lumini, a circular stepped fountain.
On a later terrace there is a huge stone table with running water in its center.
In this place, Cardinal Gambara entertained his guests.
Above is the fourth terrace, containing the water chain, an element that Vignola added to many gardens of the sixteenth century.
Also visible at Villa Farnese and Villa d'Este,
this stream cascades down the center of the steps to end at the bottom of the terrace.
On the upper level there are still fountains, grottini, and two small casini which, like their larger counterparts on the lower terrace, have a particular design, probably also by Vignola, with open loggias supported by Ionic columns.
They bear the name of Cardinal Gambara carved on the frame.
One of the small houses gives access to a small secret garden of hedges and topiaries.
They bear the name of Cardinal Gambara carved on the frame.
One of the small houses gives access to a small secret garden of hedges and topiaries.
They bear the name of Cardinal Gambara carved on the frame.
One of the small houses gives access to a small secret garden of hedges and topiaries.
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