'gardens' in urban Italy (was philosophical question)

Having just returned from Italy (and the south of France), I have been 
thinking a lot about the 'gardens' I saw there.  This recent thread seems 
to relate to some of these thoughts.  Here are some of my impressions . . .

Many of the important 'gardens' there are to see in Italy are old estate or 
villas which are now public gardens.  These tend to be large, park-like 
settings with many, once rare trees in lawn, and often with a lot of 
sculptures.  These 'pleasure gardens' were created by the very rich to show 
their wealth or demonstrate their power.  The plants being showcased, 
sometimes still somewhat uncommon, were definitely rare and unusual in the 
time that these garden were created.  In a sense, these were 'collector 
gardens' in the worst sense - merely as displays of wealth.  They can still 
be quite dramatic and impressive, but are somewhat abstracted from our 
day-to-day life.

The gardening tradition we enjoy in California does not really exist in 
that same manner in Italy, at least not until recently.  Plants are largely 
grown to eat or for some culinary or other personal use.  'Yards' tend to 
be planted for efficiency rather than aesthetics (or the aesthetic logic in 
use is quite different).  But growing plants for pleasure does exist in 
various forms:

One of these is balcony gardens - lots of balcony gardens!  Handsome stone 
building with ornate iron railings that often hold an abundance of plants 
spilling down the facades.  These might be geraniums, succulents, herbs or 
vegetables, or whatever is easy and satisfying to grow.  Nothing terrible 
rare or unusual, but lots of individuality!  And a wonderful contrast to 
the ancient architecture of the buildings.

This type of pot culture also is found on stairways and wall tops.  Various 
plants, many obviously grown mostly for the pleasure of growing 
them.  These and the balcony pots are also within easy reach of the 
stay-at-home housewives, providing access to the natural world throughout 
their day.  Since there is little available land that can be cultivated 
within the congested city, residents resort to this type of pot culture.

Another form are the various 'Madonnas' found in odd corners throughout the 
busy old quarters of the cities.  These are small shrines which have a 
statue or painting of the Madonna and child, often surrounded by living 
plants in pots.  Sometimes plastic flowers are mixed in with various 
interesting scraps of shiny stuff rescued from somewhere else, lovingly 
assembled into these charming religious decorations.

Closer to our urban gardens were the many courtyards found within a drab 
and grimy city block.  Walking down a narrow dirty street, you might 
suddenly get a glimpse of an alley opening into an internal space within 
the block.  Windows from the surrounding tall buildings might look down 
onto a richly planted garden, often full of sub-tropical plants and 
dramatic, interesting foliage.  In the best, there are nice paths as well 
as some seating areas.  This mini-oasis in the middle of an otherwise 
unassuming urban setting creates a very interesting contrast which I 
enjoyed seeing over and over again.

I took perhaps far too many slide photos of these type of scenes while I 
was away in the hopes of sharing these impressions with unsuspecting 
gardening here are home!  If some of the Italian members of this group care 
to comment on the above, I welcome their comments and insights.

Sean O.

h o r t u l u s   a p t u s     -    'a garden suited to its purpose'
Sean A. O'Hara        fax (707) 667-1173     sean.ohara@groupmail.com
710 Jean Street, Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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