English Landscape Garden
A wide garden was designed by arch. Piermarini to surround the Villa Reale. A large jardin régulier surrounds the Villa rear facade on the east side. Rows of trees, ornamental vases, statues and four regular flowerbeds are near the two rear facade wings.
North of the garden, Arch. Piermarini achieved an English landscape, being the first one in Italy, among woods and artificial hills. Maria Theresa entrusted a couple of experts of English landscape gardens, namely architects Engels and Schiller. This was intended to assist arch. Piermarini who made the most of his knowledge in terms of botany, mechanical engineering and hydraulics. A pond was designed, fed by a stream flowing among artificial caves and meadows, creating rivulets and waterfalls. This could be possible thanks to skilfully created ground elevations and lowering.
A cave was created in a cleft and it was named antro di Polifemo (Polyphemus cave). On top of a hill a doric temple was built, like the Flora’s in Stourhead Garden at Stourton Wiltshire. Count Ettore Silva, who was the precursor in Italy of wild garden style, stated: “rocks are very well reproduced, including caves with waterfalls and landscape views. A pond is up the hill with a doric temple on its highest bank. In opposition to the surrounding agreeableness, below the pond, the antro di Polifemo can be seen among twigs and stones.”» {1}
According to arch. Piermarini, Archduke Ferdinand was so impressed that he ordered to remove the cave scaffholding before completion as he wished to look at work in progress. Thanks to his passion for botany, he enriched the Villa’s external area with a lab vegetable garden in greenhouse and rare plants and flowers, there including american sequoia and huge ginkgos.
Being intended as entertainment and delight place, the garden was equipped with toys and carousel, just like the jeu de bague in Marie Antoinette’s Petit Trianon, and the pond was equipped with a shelter for boats and swans.
1 - E. Silva, Dell’arte de’ giardini inglesi (1801), edited by G. Venturi, Milan, 1976, page 262.
Comitato "La Villa Reale è anche mia" - tel +39 039 382147 +39 039 324204
Search your info in our website utitilizing the internal browser.
Fill in the below box with a word or sentence and click on search. CLOSE
Fill in the below box with a word or sentence and click on search. CLOSE
