VILLA GAMBERAIA

                      The Garden of Princess Ghyka

The garden of Villa Gamberaia in the village of Settignano on the hillside above Florence is the most perfect example of an Italian garden. At Gamberaia the overwhelming feeling is that you are intruding into the private space of Princess Ghyka, you can feel her presence everywhere.

The view towards Florence from the garden

Gamberaia became the blue print for the renaissance of the Italian garden style; it was considered the best example of how an Italian garden should look. Geoffrey Jellicoe said that Gamberaia was more Italian than the Italians. Garden designers and landscape architects from England, France, Germany and America all studied Gamberaia, and wondered at its creation in such a difficult shape. Edith Wharton wrote about Gamberaia and said, ‘’The plan of the Gamberaia has been described thus in detail because it combines in an astonishingly small space, yet without the least sense of overcrowding, almost every typical excellence of the old Italian garden: free circulation of sunlight and air about the house; abundance of water; easy access to dense shade; sheltered walks with different points of view, variety of effect produced by the skilful use of different levels; and finally breadth and simplicity of composition’’. Gamberaia was the inspiration for the garden created at Villa Le Balze by Cecil Pinsent, and it is considered that Vita Sack-Ville West took inspiration from here, for the white garden, the blossom from the lemon trees and the white roses in the lemon garden impressed Vita very much. Vita was a friend of Princess Ghyka and a visitor to Gamberaia.

The lemon garden

Catherine Jeanne Keshko was the wife of Prince Ghyka, and was Rumanian. She became Princess Ghyka and bought Gamberaia, although her husband probably never visited the villa. Princess Ghyka disliked men and lived with her lover Florence Blood, who has been described as both British and American, depending on which author you read. Florence Blood was more outgoing but Princess Ghyka led a secretive life, shunning contact with people who were not close friends as far as possible. Gamberaia become the hub of Lesbian life in this region and attracted a group of English and American female actors and authors who could lead the life they wished to, unrestricted by anti-homosexual laws such as in Britain at that time.

 Princess Ghyka employed Martino Porcina as her head gardener; he worked alongside Luigi Messeri to create Gamberaia. The garden was designed with a mix of renaissance and baroque styles on a very small site, being only around one hectare, but with simply stunning views overlooking Florence. The mistake must not be made that Gamberaia and other Florentine villas such as Le Balze are renaissance gardens; they are not, as Hobhouse explains. ‘’Although almost modern creations, they beautifully illustrate the whole renaissance formula. In both, the axial principles and use of space are easily recognizable as renaissance inspired- indeed they are nearly exaggerations of the real thing’’. The garden is designed around a Series of axis and different vista’s, it uses the open agricultural countryside to the south and also the view over Florence to the west. The hedges frame certain views to create a feeling of seclusion in parts of the garden while the lawn terrace has an open view over Florence. The villa and garden were built on a steep slope long before Princess Ghyka’s tenure, terraces had to be constructed and vast amounts of soil had to be moved. The terraces really represent the Italian agricultural method of farming on slopes and bring the garden into harmony with its agricultural surroundings. This is indicative of the Medici renaissance gardens which also had the connection with the countryside; the Medici’s originally being farmers.

The villa on the south side has a loggia that looks over the water parterres which are surrounded by tightly clipped box in geometrical shapes, and then down to the cypress belvedere where once was the ‘garenne’ the rabbit island. The shape of this area still mirrors the shape of the old rabbit island. The tree behind the belvedere is a beautiful Corsican pine. The water parterres were once parterre de broderie and were re-designed with water by Princess Ghyka, she would swim in these at night when no-one could see her. Harold Acton described the water parterres as the union of ‘’liquid and solid’’. Katie Campbell made a similar connection and wrote, ‘’with its harmonising of solid and liquid stone and watered image and reflection, the water parterres is a brilliant modern interpretation of the baroque style’’. Parterres are designed to be viewed from elevation and the water parterres at Gamberaia are no different, the loggia being that elevated area. Monty Don discussing the water parterre said, ‘’the parterre hardly reads on an initial ground level sighting. That is not to say that it is not pleasing and impressive, but the water is almost lost and the narrative jumbled. But go up-stairs to the loggia as I did and look down upon it and it leaps out as a coherent plan built around four large rectangular pools and a much smaller circular pool with a stony fountain in the centre’’.

Looking towards the water parterre and villa

The main axis and central walk is known as the bowling green and stretches for some two hundred and twenty metres. The bowling green is a stunning feature and terminates at the northern end with the nymphaeum and at the southern end with the viewing belvedere. The alley was originally lined along its entire length with cypresses, the only ones left now along the alley are situated around the nymphaeum, and these are now colossal giants, old and extremely gnarled. The bowling green is an unusual feature and is not something you would expect to see outside of an English garden, but you have to remember the Florentine gardens had become anglicised, many were owned by ex-patriot Americans and English.

Beneath this turf is the old renaissance aqueduct that brought water to the garden and then out into the surrounding farm land. The bowling green lawn is an artery that other gardens project off from, such as the grotto, water parterre and the two bosco. Edith Wharton described the use of turf in Italian gardens and on this scale at Gamberaia, ‘’it was said that lawns are unsuited to the Italian soil and climate, but it must not be thought that Italian gardeners did not appreciate the value of turf. They used it, but sparingly, knowing that it required great care and was not a characteristic of the soil. The bowling green of the Gamberaia shows how well the beauty of a long stretch of greensward was understood’’.

The nymphaeum at the northern end of the bowling green is a baroque feature that shows the connection to the renaissance and baroque in Italian garden design. It also demonstrates the connection with ancient Rome. The nymphaeum is enclosed by two walls that are decorated in rocailles work and in the niche is a statue of Dionysus or Pan, but is often considered to be Neptune. The ancient cypresses surround the nymphaeum and create a cool shady area; the water once tumbled over the figure and the two lions each side of it.

The grotto or cabinet di roccaglia which as you turn your back on the nymphaeum and walk south along the bowling green is found directly behind the villa on the left. This is a sublime space. The walls are encrusted with ornate rock work, sea shells, stones and pebbles. The grotto is the link between the bowling green level and the lemon garden and the two bosco. The area is filled with pots and urns and in the niches there are small statues and plants. There are also balustrade steps that lead to the lemon garden. Harold Acton described the grotto as, ‘’one of the prettiest open air boudoirs imaginable’’. The idea originally was possibly to use the grotto as an open air music room. Katie Campbell I think describes the grotto well when she wrote, ‘’ a path from the villa back door leads to the grotto garden, a sensuous, mysterious space whose high mosaic embellished walls and exuberant sculptures once hid secret water games’’. The possibility also exists that this area was once an enclosed flower garden.

The area above the grotto is where you will find the lemon garden and the lemon house. The lemon garden is divided into four sections. Here you will find more than just lemons but oranges, mandarins, grapefruit and kumquats, a real selection of fruit. The lemons are in perfect condition and the scent is wonderful. I can fully understand why Louis X1V filled Versailles palace and the garden with these plants, they are truly wonderful to behold. The lemon and the orange for that matter are Tuscany itself, the two so connected as to be inseparable.

Gamberaia is full of flowering plants contrasting wonderfully with the foil of the bowling green and the range of hedging plants and box topiary throughout the garden. There are a row of stunning Albertine roses in front of the lemon house which in May look simply wonderful. There are lavender are many types of Mediterranean plants all adding to the colour at Gamberaia. The plants though that are emblematic of Tuscany are the evergreens and non-more so than the Cupressus semperviren’s, these rise like pencils all over the landscape, they are proud, tall and strong and without doubt  the most beautiful and dominant tree. The Quercus ilex is another Mediterranean tree that is widely used and is the best of all the oaks. At Gamberaia this tree is used to populate the selvatico or bosco.

The last feature I will look at is the lawn terrace that overlooks Florence. The villas that are spread around the side of the Arno valley all look in towards the city, and put simply the view of Florence and especially the Duomo is one that you never forget. The low wall of this terrace has more Albertine roses on it and there are urns and sculptures of dogs and lions. The dogs it has been said are standing guard over the villa and its grounds and have been doing so for around three hundred years.  
 

Gamberaia is a beautiful garden and one that has been an inspiration over countless years, for many generations of architects and designers from countries all over Europe and America. The garden as I said at the beginning still feels the private space of the Princess; it is calm and serene and simply wonderfully designed and constructed. I do urge you to visit some of the gardens in this region, Medici villas or otherwise, but whatever you see and whenever you come, make an appointment to see Gamberaia.  

During the Second World War many villas in this area and in fact all over Italy suffered various degrees of damage, not always directly caused by the Germans but mainly by American bombing, although at Gamberaia it was German action that caused the damage. With this in mind I leave the last word to Bernard Berenson who went back to see Gamberaia after the war, ‘’Walked over to Villa Gamberaia, found it neglected, unkempt, grass not mown, trees with branches broken looking like elephants with broken tusks, the house burnt out with the beautiful courtyard fallen in, vases and stone animals on parapet thrown down and broken – and yet the place retains its charm, its power to inspire longing and dreams, sweet dreams. Its beauty though so uncared for is still great enough to absorb one almost completely, the terraces, the ponds, the great apse of cut cypresses, the bowling green as you look at it from the grotto toward the south like a great boat sailing through space, the view over the quiet landscape of the Chianti hills and further over the domes and towers to the snow-capped Apennines and the Arno glimmering in the plain’’.