My next journey with Monty Don is to the Mediterranean to visit gardens and meet movie star plants (OK, I can't stay completely away from the Mediterranean climate)! On this trip Monty travels through the cradle of European civilization visiting gardens in Spain, Morocco, and Italy. He studies the elaborate Renaissance gardens that influenced western garden design, and the artistic achievements of the Moorish culture that influenced gardens in Spain and around the world. So grab your camera and join us for more summer travelling!
Spain, Morocco, Italy (2008, Episode 7)
Monty's first stop is Tivoli, Italy, just outside of Rome and a popular summer residence since ancient Roman times due to its altitude and cooler temperatures. He visits several gardens in the area including the Renaissance-era Villa d'Este, which was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este (1509–1572). Water is the main theme of the garden. Water features are incorporated into the design to delight and surprise its visitors, including fountains, water sprays, a grotto, and a water organ.
He visits nearby Villa Adriana (Hadrian's Villa, built in the second century). Its design implements hydro technology, which was revived centuries later in gardens including Villa d'Este. Monty marvels at the size of the garden and the engineering involved, and notes that the grand garden was left to deteriorate as Europe headed into the Dark Ages. Monty heads for a modern vineyard in the same area, where they grow organic fruits and veggies, including a variety of grapes that originated from Villa d'Este.
Next stop is Villa Lante in Bagnaia, which represents the perfect Renaissance garden for Monty. The villa isn't just a retreat, but a statement of power. The garden is designed around a central axis, with a clipped and controlled formal garden and a backdrop of parkland. A 50-foot long stone table features an icy-cold canal running down its center, in which cold drinks and dishes would float by its diners, perfect for outdoor entertaining. The garden design may have inspired English gardening 200 years later.
From Italy, Monty travels to Marrakech, Morocco to explore the Islamic influence on gardens. He visits Aguedal, one of the oldest continuous gardens in the world, with water brought in from the Atlas mountains 1000 miles away. It is part orchard, part farm, and part garden. Everything in the garden has both usefulness and beauty. Monty interviews Professor Mohammed El Faiz about the garden to learn more, and finds his views on gardens challenged.
In Marrakesh, many homes are based on traditional Islamic design, where the house is built around a courtyard garden. The buildings appear modest from the outside, but the courtyard gardens are lush and lavish, and provide an outdoor space in which to cook, eat, and grow food. Monty also visits the French-inspired Jardin Majorelle, dating from the 1920's and 30's, and featuring Art Deco, Berber, and Islamic influences.
From Marrakech, Monty travels to Spain via train and hydrofoil. He visits The Alhambra in Granada, the oldest surviving palace garden. Its elements are based on Islamic design, which seeks to represent paradise on earth. On the island of Cordoba, Monty enjoys the annual festival of patio gardens, where thousands of courtyard and patio gardens are opened up for visitors. In these gardens, people eat, drink, party, and work, which Monty has come to see as the definition of a garden.
Monty ends his tour in Madrid, at Casa Caruncho, a cloister garden that opens out to nature. He interviews its designer, Fernando Caruncho, and learns the importance of light in the garden (direct, reflected, and shaded) for the Spanish psyche. In the garden you are transported outside of yourself, like a mini-pilgrimage.
Monty ends the tour pondering how Mediterranean gardens reflect the strength of two different cultures, the classical and Islamic. The two have enriched and informed each other from very early times, synthesizing the physical and the spiritual from both cultures. Hope you've enjoyed traveling with Monty to see the beautiful ancient and modern Mediterranean gardens, which continue to influence garden design today.
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