描述
In the hills surrounding the great Tuscan cities of Lucca, Florence and Siena are countless gardens, great and small, which have been a source of reference and inspiration to garden designers and landscape architects since the Renaissance. This book is a grand tour through the garden heart of this beautiful and celebrated landscape.
The majestic villas and gardens of great families like the Medici are counterpointed by the orderly kitchen gardens of the country cottage or the colourful potted plants and small back gardens of the town house; and the lavish sculpture-filled landscapes of the wealthy are set against the natural elegance of the Tuscan countryside.
The book is divided into three sections, based on the three centres, Siena, Lucca and Florence (although most gardens are to be found in and around Florence), and provides both historical background and detailed observation of the gardens of each area and their characteristic features. Illustrated by the Florentine photographer Raffaello Bencini, with a foreword by the eminent writer and historian Sir Harold Acton and text by the garden writer and designer Ethne Clarke, this book is not only a spectacular record of these superb gardens but also a companion guide for visitors to the region, showing the best public gardens and giving an exclusive view of the private ones.
