Villa di Castello

Garden study

Anannya Dagadkar (2019BARC006)

Aanchal Gupta (2019BARC016)
Anam Shaikh (2019BARC042)
Architect : Niccolo Tribolo

Style: The Italian Renaissance Garden

Time period: 1537

Location (Country): Florence, Italy

History
Villa Castello is located at the foot of the hills northwest of Florence, near the town of Sesto Fiorentino. The
villa was located near a Roman aqueduct, and took its name from the water cisterns (castella) near the site.
A fortified building had been standing on the site since 1427, and was purchased in 1477 by Lorenzo and
Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. First, under the direction of Piero da San Casciano, an aqueduct was
constructed from the Castella higher up the slope of Monte Morello. a second aqueduct was built from
another spring at Petraia.. Tribolo created a bosco, or a simulated natural forest, separated from the garden
by a high retaining wall.

The fountain of Hercules and Antaeus. he divided the old walled garden into two by another wall, and carved
out a small upper terrace and a large lower terrace, connected by two ornamental stairways. The smaller
upper garden was planted with orange and lemon trees, trained to grow up the walls. It also contained, in the
center of the back wall, the entrance to the grotto, a small cave whose walls resembled a natural cavern,
richly decorated and filled with sculpture. The larger lower garden was divided into squares, like small rooms,
divided by paths and bordered by hedges and rows of cedar and olive trees, and filled with flower beds. In
the center of the terrace was a circular labyrinth of cypress trees interplanted with laurel, myrtle and roses. In
the center of the labyrinth was fountain crowned by a statue of Venus. A second, larger fountain, crowned
with a bronze statue of Hercules defeating Antaeus, was located between the labyrinth and the villa.
The citrus garden contains more than
five hundred pots of lemon and
orange trees.
The garden was filled with
statuary associating the virtues
of ancient Rome with the power
and virtue of the ruler of
Florence.
Climbing through the garden, visitors saw busts of the
Medici dynasty in Roman costume.
Cosimo I de Medici, 19 years of age,
at the time he was building the
gardens of Villa di Castello (Jacopo
Pontormo, c. 1538)
The villa and gardens seen from the
upper garden. The garden plan was
based on harmony and order, the
principles upon which Cosimo planned
to rule Florence.
 Geometric
Pattern
▪ The layout of 16 compartmentalized
geometric parterres of European
Box Hedge is a demonstration of
perfect control that man has with
space and with nature.
▪ The terracing of the garden
maximizes views over Florence, a
well-established precedent of
Renaissance gardens, whilst also
providing very efficient hydraulic
irrigation systems and the birth of
'giochi d'acqua' (engineered water
features) designed to entertain
guests with water play in
surrounding Grottos.

Plan and Section

Topography

[the garden] is in an elevated place... a

path so gentle, climbing that it fools those
who take it to the point they do not realise
how high they have climbed until they
discover the countryside below.
 View

FUNCTIONS
1. were largely designed for
contemplation and pleasure
2. also used gardens to display
political power
3. in the case of Villa di
Castello - Cosimo de Medici's
glorious power and order
newly reigning over Florence
The garden was designed to deliver a clear political message. The fountain of
Hercules and Antaeus showed how Cosimo, like Hercules, had defeated his
enemies by wisdom, rather than just brute strength. The fountain of Venus was a
tribute to Venus, one of the symbols of Florence. “Venus had ruled over the isles
of the Hesperides”, Tribolo signified this message with statuary throughout the
garden. The stairways were decorated with busts of the earlier Medici rulers, in
Roman costumes. The other statues around the gardens represented the four
seasons, and the virtues of the House of Medici: justice, compassion, valor,
nobility, wisdom, and liberality.

- The Symbolism of the Garden

Space Distribution
▪ Upon entering , one stepped onto a broad, shallow
greensward from which steps led to the wall-enclosed
giardino principal, at the center of which a circular
labyrinth of cypresses, elms, and myrtles was laid out.
Beyond the upper garden wall grew a wild, uncultivated
forest, not formally integrated with the garden.
▪ At the lowest ground level a sort of cortile, which led by
way of broad steps to the garden of the labyrinth.
Immediately before the labyrinth there’s a square lawn
with the Hercules fountain at its center and two loggias at
either side with marble tables and nymphs pouring water.
▪ Unidentified statues stood in wall niches and at the
intersections of paths.
▪ A gate flanked by water-spewing putt at the center of the
upper retaining wall led to a somewhat shallower newly
laid out terrace with similar free-standing loggias.
▪ Built into the center of the next higher retaining wall was
a grotto flanked by fountains which faced two additional
fountains arranged symmetrically opposite them.
▪ Above this last terrace began the forest of cypresses,
pines, oaks, laurel, and other trees.
▪ The axis that led from gate to grotto was to be extended
by the addition of a reservoir here. In its climb up-hill, the
evergreen forest bent to form an obtuse angle
Aesthetic Value
The Fountain of
Hercules and Antaeus
Designer:
Niccolò Tribolo
Symbolism:
The victory of Cosimo de' Medici over the enemies of
Florence, particularly the rebels who tried to depose
him
Features:
‐ Marble and bronze sculptures
‐ Marble pool into which the water poured had
eight sides, as did the base of the fountain
‐ marble statues of children: life sized and in full
relief, protected by the tazza, or basin above as
if they were sheltering from the ran,
‐ Smaller tazza supported by statues of children 
‐ Four heads of capricorns, a combination of a
fish and a ram, an emblem of the Medici
family, looks down from the upper basin,
‐ a pedestal was decorated with more figures of
children
The fountain of Hercules was to be surrounded by a
circle of trees.
 The fountain was originally
surrounded by a labyrinth of
trees, and also featured a water
pipe with hidden nozzles, which
could be turned on with a key to
drench unsuspecting spectators.
The figures of Hercules and
Antaeus. Hercules has lifted
Antaeus off his feet, depriving
him of his power. Water
spouted three meters upward
from the mouth of Antaeus.
The upper level of the
fountain. Four capricorns, one
of the emblems of the Medici,
look down from the upper
basin.
The eight-sided marble base of
the fountain was decorated
marble statues of life-size
children, protected by the basin
above as if they were taking
shelter from the rain.
The Fountain of Florence
(Fiorenza)
The Fountain of Florence, with a statue of Venus by Giambologna, originally stood
in the upper part of the garden at Castello. It was moved in 1788 to the
neighboring Villa Petraia, where it can be seen today.
Location:
upper part of the garden, closer to the grotto
surrounded by a maze of greenery
The Grotto ‐
‐ a cave entered by a doorway in the upper wall of the garden
walls of the cave are  covered with limestone that resemble natural cavern,

of the animals
embedded with stones, mosaic and seashells
‐ three chambers around the grotto
‐ groups of birds and animals, made of multicolor bronze and marble
‐ The grotto also contained a water feature; the gate could be closed, and, with
the turn of a key, visitors to the grotto were soaked with fine jets of water from
a hidden pipes and nozzles.

The entrance to the The central chamber of the The right chamber of The left chamber of the The ceiling of the grotto.
grotto, against the grotto, with a unicorn. The the grotto of the grotto.
back wall of the original grotto featured a statue animals.
garden. of Orpheus with his lyre in the
center; the animals were listening
to his music.
 The Villa
A five hundred meter avenue
lined with trees leads to the
front door of the Villa.

The Annunciation by Raffaellino del

Garbo (1476-1524), in the interior of the villa,
dates from before Cosimo's rise to power. Murals in the salone delle riunioni, or meeting hall (19th
The exterior of the villa, from century).
the south
 The Water in the Garden
● The hydraulic system of the garden, played an important part in the symbolism of
the garden. In the "sacred wood," was a statue of Appennino, symbolizing the
mountains of Tuscany, portrayed as an old man shivering, with water pouring over
his head. Water flowed from this down bronze pipes and emerged in two fountains
built in the retaining wall on either side of grotto, representing the two rivers of
Florence. Water also flowed into the grotto, running down the walls. The two
"rivers" flowed in channels through the garden, while other pipes carried water to
the two fountains.
● As the water source for the fountain of Hercules and Antaeus was on the hillside
high above the fountain, a jet of water spouted a full three meters above his
mouth.
● Once it had passed through the fountains, the water flowed in two separate
channels into two small private gardens on either side of the villa, and then
entered two large fishponds in front of the villa. After that, the water was used to
irrigate the fields and gardens below.
● There was also a small house located in the branches of an enormous oak tree, just
east of the garden. The house was reached by a stairway, and contained a marble
table and a fountain served by pipes from the reservoir.
1
2

1. The Fountain of Appennino, by

Bartolomeo Ammannati (1563),
represented the mountain source of the
rivers of Florence. The lake feeds the
fountains in the garden below.

2. The fountain of Hercules and Antaeus

symbolized how Cosimo had defeated
the enemies of Florence through his
intelligence.
The Ortaccio, or Herb Garden

The Jasminum sambac, or

The ortaccio is a separate The hot-house called the Stufa
Grand Duke of Tuscany, is a
enclosed garden where di mugherini, at the end of the
variety of jasmine first
medicinal plants, herbs and ortaccio, was built in the 18th
introduced to the garden in
exotic plants were grown century to nurture exotic flowers
1688 by Cosimo III de'Medici.
such as the jasminum sambac.
 The Citrus Garden

The hot-house called the Stufa

The ortaccio is a separate
enclosed garden where
medicinal plants, herbs and
exotic plants were grown
di mugherini, at the end of the
ortaccio, was built in the 18th
century to nurture exotic
flowers such as the jasminum
sambac.
The later years

The Habsburg-Lorraine, inherited the

villa after 1737. They they enlarged the
collection of citrus trees and built two
limonaie, or lemon houses, but at the
same time they dismantled several
fountains, cut off the water to the grotto,
and destroyed the maze of trees.

The garden became a national museum

in 1984
 The Garden Today
Today, one will find hundreds of heavy terracotta pots of citrus lining paths, flanking steps and marking the corners of flower
filled parterres. Closer inspection will reveal a wonderful display of strange and unlikely fruit. There may be mandarins and
oranges growing on the same plant, citrons with skins raised in terrible carbuncles or lemons shaped like hands with an
unsettling number of shiny yellow fingers. Some of the oldest trees at Castello were once part of the largest and most diverse
citrus collection in Europe. In later years they still continued to submit to a little light pruning each year and tolerated the
move into the lemon house—in autumn and out into the garden again in spring.Each tree was labelled with a number
corresponding to an inventory.Originally, the most famous specimen of the garden was a chimera always known as bizzarria
or ‘bizarre’, sported green-and orange yellow flesh beneath the skin was that of a lemon. the peculiar fruit occasionally
produced when two different citrus species or varieties are grafted together and produce fruit on a branch immediately
above the graft that has a jumble of unresolved features
Thank you!