Typical Italian Gardens

On June 17, Dr. Lombardini took the class on a tour of the Boboli Gardens on our last class visit to Florence. It was crazy how many different garden types were in just one garden. During our walk through the gardens Dr. Lombardini told us the three main characteristics that are consistent with Italian gardens, and the picture I took encompasses all three of the characteristics that he mentions. The first is symmetry, in this picture there is a small fountain with a column statue coming out from in that creates the center part of this section. Then off to both the left and right are different sculptures that are structured and place identically on both of the sides. Next is green, all throughout the garden the only color seen was green. Flowers were not as common in Italian gardens, which is why so much green can be seen. The final element is hills, which in this picture can be seen in the background. With Italy being so full of hills, it was not surprising at all to learn that hills were one of the elements of an Italian garden. -CML