Villa Lante at Bagnaia, near Viterbo

Villa Lante at Bagnaia near Viterbo was built in 1511 by Cardinal Gianfrancesco Gambara on foundations as old as 1202. The over-all scheme of the design was ' the primordial element of water.' It is known as a Mannerist garden of surprise. The garden was completed in 1560 and is the main purpose of the site.

As you enter through the arched gate way from a small street within the village, you are instantly engaged with the garden. A beautiful fountain with Pegasus in the middle. As instructed, we went up the stairs and turned left where a small door led us into another surprise. 

Looking towards the ticket collector we entered a highly decorated pavilion, one of two on either side of the garden. But it was when we turned around that we really got the surprise.

Wow! Stunning parterre gardens and a huge fountain. History says that these parterre gardens pre-date those at Fontainbleu and other French chateaux. 

The Fountain of the Mori, the centrepiece of four Moorish boys holding up the coat of arms is surrounded by a large expanse of water with additional statuary. The Quadrato is a perfect square parterre with the fountain in the middle.

From the parterre you begin to see the rising up of the gardens to its climax. The summer houses, or casini, are well sited within the garden from this perspective too.

Looking back as we were going up the stairs to the side, we saw the full beauty of this section of the garden. An important rule of photography is ' keep looking behind you' and this garden certainly needed that action.

Once up the stairs and looking forward again we saw this fountain that has seventy water jets framing a central water spout. It is known as the Fountain of the Lamps because in the right light the water spouts look like flames on the lamps.

Upwards, more amazing views, more special little nooks and features.

On the third level we came to the Cardinal's outdoor dining table. It has water running gently through the centre and is said to have reflected the beauty of the garden into the faces of the diners.

The gigantic fountain of river gods was under scaffolding and was being cleaned.

Directly behind the fountain is the chain of water which feeds the fountain. This chain is in the form of shrimp. This is a playful use of the Cardinal's surname as gambero is Italian for shrimp. The water was flowing in this chain so we could appreciate the beauty of the design and the clever hydronics.

On the very upper level is a fountain which used to have a light covering over it, according to historical references. It is the centrepiece of the area which includes two small casini called The Houses of the Muses, a grotto and some very old plane trees. The grotto is called the Fountain of the Deluge.

One of the houses of the muses and the very old plane trees.

Coming back down we could appreciate the position of the Villa within the village as we had had a quick lunch in the little piazza that included the clock tower and two churches.

Had we not turned left as instructed at the beginning but gone right, we would have entered this beautiful park area which is now open to the public at no cost.

Unlike the previous garden Villa Lante did have some shrubs and flowers. The hydrangeas were flowering in blues, pinks and mauves. There were also camelia and rhododendron bushes.

Yes, we really were there.

Back down to the first level, we wandered around the parterre and fountain again not wanting to leave this special garden.

Once back at the car reality set in as we had about 130 kilometres to travel home, some on narrow and winding country roads and a large part on the Autostrada del Sol where speeds of 180 kph seem normal. My driver tells me we were doing 130 kph in the slow lane in our little Lancia so you can imagine what the Maserati, Audi, Porsche and Mercedes were doing. We were passed by all sorts of little cars ... Renault Clios, little Fiats and even a Smart Car.