THE LANDSCAPING

The topographical reconstruction of the Renaissance landscape layout identifies five gardens within the lower terrace, which grew up around the oldest fountains: those of the seasons to the west and east, and that of Neptune at the centre.

It is thought that the two eighteenth-century fountains are not to be considered focal points of primary importance in the first layout of the garden, although placed on the central east-west axis, as they belong to subsequent modifications. It is believed that the garden around the fountains must have been different to the rest, on account of its centrality and the particular feature of the fountain itself. The design proposed is inspired by the oval garden of Pierre Morin, a lover of flowers and collector of curios active in Paris between 1620 and 1679.

A slightly modified version has been proposed, formed of an oval strip subdivided into five almost trapezoidal compartments, which correspond to the arrangement of the benches and the spaces between them.

The plan broadly proposes the restoration of the beds against the wall and of the isolated, oblong ones, with evergreen shrubs shaped into topiary, both in pots and in the ground. It also proposes the recovery of ancient, non-functioning structures still present in the garden, such as the open-air irrigation channel.