Villa Lante in Bagnaia, a hamlet of Viterbo, is one of the most significant expressions of the Italian Cinquecento. The villa is composed of two symmetrical buildings, each on a square layout with a frescoed loggia, featuring three large bossage arches, on the ground floor. The piano nobile above has three windows on each façade, whose pediments are alternately round or pointed. The storey above that is hinted at by the presence of small rectangular windows.
An arch at the top of a flight of stairs, built in 1772, gives access to the villa which occupies over 20 hectares of land. The park conserves an Italian garden with fountains, waterfalls, hedgerows, water features, niches and labyrinths. The fountains, embellished with sculptural groups, are placed along the five levels of terraces. In the centre of the forecourt outside the villa is the Fontana del Quadrato which features a sculptural group of the “Four Moors”. There are also terraced gardens, the Fontana dei Lumini with 70 water jets spouting from small teacups, mature trees and shrubs, including elms, oaks and plane trees. The Mensa del Cardinale (or Fontana della Tavola) on the third terrace is an enormous stone table with water flowing through a central hole. Further on, are secret gardens and labyrinths, the Fontana dei Delfini which is encircled by box hedges, the Fontana dei Giganti with colossal statues representing two rivers, and the Fontana del Diluvio where water flows from a cave. The park also has a ghiacciaia (icehouse), an early 17th century dome shaped construction, sunk into the ground, that was filled with ice in the winter to preserve food and drink.
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