Renaissance Discoveries: Italian Gardens

The Italian Renaissance marked important innovations not only in painting and architecture but also in the design and function of the garden. Just architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi were inspired by ancient Roman themes in their architecture, so too garden designers of the 1400s referenced the ancient Roman passion for beauty, measure and order. This video looks at the changing attitudes toward the garden in Italy, from Petrarch in the 1300s to Leon Battista Alberti a century later. We look especially at the Villa Medici in Fiesole, whose garden was engineered and designed for Giovanni de’ Medici, younger son of Cosimo. This beautiful style then spread outward from Italy—to France, England, Spain, and the United States.