• Settignano (east of
Florence)
• View:
Village
of Settignano and the Arno Valley
Ownership:
• 14th
century:
Simple
farmhouse owned by nuns
• Zanopi di Lapi – wealthy merchant (1624)
The
gardens show few concessions to the Baroque style that was prevalent in other
parts of Italy during this time.
• The Capponi Family—Approx. 100 years later (1718)
Enlarged
the garden to its current size and form
• Princess Ghyka (1895) a Rumanian princess
Further
refinements—
The
water garden and the lemon garden
Designers:
Martino Pocinai and Luigi Messeri
• WWII 1939-45
House
and gardens badly destroyed
• Marcello Marchi
Purchased
the villa and reconstructed it and the garden (1954)
Design:
• Garden plan combines a
great deal in a small space—yet w/out a sense of overcrowding.
• A success of organized
spaces
• The Garden as an
extension of the house
Italian design style evident in:
• Garden form
• Symmetry
• Balance
• Setting (High in the
hills with a view of the village below)
• The Parterres
• The Grotto
• Orchards (Olive)
adjacent to the garden—borrowed view
• Potted Citrus
• Water Features
• Sculpture
• Design invention:
Arcade of hedging (Palisade), punctured to expose fantastic views