Italian Renaissance garden

The renaissance was a re-evaluation of mans relationship with god and nature. It was the rediscovery of the classical texts and the philosophies. Arts and sciences were mainly impacted by the renaissance. 

Humanism was a specific renaissance idea. It was a method of study seeking realism and human emotion in art. It was based on human values and concerns. The two goals of humanism were to understand god and to acquire nature. 

Because the inter-relationship between god, man, and nature was so strong, people believed these renaissance gardens were structurally all gods’ work. Nature was animate, cosmically ordered, and divinely created. In the gardens, nature’s raw materials were organized and imitated by mans art. Italian renaissance gardens were based on duality of art and nature.  

Before the renaissance, gardens were either religious (examples: Mary, monastic, and cloisters) or secular (examples: romance, pleasant space, and enclosed). During the medieval to renaissance period a new garden form gave way. It was an expansive, more outwardly directed, worldlier garden. The Poggio Reale shown below is an example of this early renaissance garden. This garden was made where there was space, like many other renaissance gardens.

Poggio Reale, Naples 1480’s

The architecture of the Italian renaissance gardens was based on symmetry and proportion. Leisure and otium were the main uses for these gardens. Renaissance gardens were hillside and cascaded outwards. 

Villa de Medici, Fiesole, Florence

In the Villa de Medici, the house is placed above the garden so the owner can look down on the gardens. In these renaissance gardens, the villa should be looked at from the house and the house should be looked at from the villa. Villa de Medici is formal, big scale, and looking outward. The owners would invite people to their gardens to discuss what is going on in the renaissance world.

Villa d’este 1550-80, Tivoli

Villa d’este has many water features and layers. This is a perfect example of a renaissance garden. It is dominated by architecture, sculpture, water, and message laden-landscapes. This garden is enclosed but you can easily look over the walls to view the three terraces in the garden and the outside of the garden. The water features show the human based interaction with nature. Many allegories were shown in this garden, which expresses the renaissance by showing values. The water in the water features came from a river that flows through Rome. This shows the owner is connected to Rome. The ‘alley of the hundred fountains’ shows the owner is not only wealthy, powerful, but also family driven. 

Compared to the gardens before this time, the Italian renaissance garden focuses more on meaning and relationship with god and nature, not merely on ornamentation. 

To read more about the history of the Italian renaissance gardens visit:

http://www.gardenvisit.com/history_theory/library_online_ebooks/ml_gothein_history_garden_art_design/italian_garden_history_renaissance -website

Sources:

http://www.gardenvisit.com/uploads/image/image/165/16515/poggio_reale_1822_jpg_original.jpg -picture

http://www.gardenvisit.com/uploads/image/image/487/4875/villa_medici_fiesole1_original.jpg -picture

http://www.enjoyrome.com/admin/showphototour.php?id=28&foto=5 -picture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance_garden -website