The Classical Influence the Italian Renaissance Garden Essay Example

genuine one, which is happy and honorable, more rewarding than any "business" can be. You should take the first opportunity to leave the din, the futile bustle and useless occupations of the city and devote yourself to literature or to leisure."[3]. The purpose of a garden, according to Pliny, was "otium," which could be translated as seclusion, serenity, or relaxation. A garden was a place to think, read, write and relax.[4] Pliny described shaded paths bordered with hedges, ornamental parterres, fountains, and trees and bushes trimmed to geometric or fantastic shapes; all features which would become part of the future Renaissance garden.

The Palazzo Piccolomini at Pienza, Tuscany, (1459)

Gardens of the Palazzo Piccolomini The Palazzo Piccolomini at Pienza was built by Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who was Pope from 1458 to 1464, under the name of Pius II. He was a scholar of Latin and wrote extensively on education, astronomy, and social culture.. In 1459, he constructed a palace for himself and his Cardinals and court in his small native town of Pienza. Like the Villa Medici, a major feature of the house was the commanding view to be had from the loggia over the valley, the Val d’Orcia, to the slopes of Monte Amiata. Closer to the house, there were terraces with geometric flowerbeds surrounding fountains and ornamented with bushes trimmed into cones and spheres similar to the garden of Pliny described in Alberti's De Re Aedificatoria The garden was designed to open to the town, the palace, and the view.