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observing in a note, that the Villa Tilmrtina of A drian and the Domvs Aurea of Nero,
according to the description of the latter b j Suetonius, and of the former by Ælius
Spartianus, must be regaa-dcd as the first, and perhaps still unrivalled, prototypes of
the art of laying out pleasure-grounds, which we now call English gardening. Nero
died A. D. 68.
50. Some idea o f the town-gardens o f the Romans, aboiit the beginning of the Christian
era, may be obtained from the paintings rescued from the niiiis of Herculaneum and
Pompeii ; the former biu-ied beneath a stream of lava, and the latter overwhelmed by
a shower of volcanic ashes from Mount Vesuvius, a . d . 79. The gardens in the
paintings alluded to ai-e represented as small square plots in front of the houses, enclosed
with trellis work, planted with espaliers, and ornamented witli fountains, urns, and other
sculptured ornaments. Plants in pots and boxes appear sometimes on the walks, and
set in thewfindows ; and over the doors may sometimes be observed climbers resembling
honeysuckles. The walls which sun-ounded these courts may still be seen at Pompeii ;
but the largest which we saw in 1819, could not enclose more than a quarter of an acre.
51. The Roman villa. The most complete example we have of an ordinary sized
Homan villa is to be found in the niins of one disintcn-ed at Pompeii. It is situated
on a sloping bank, and the fi-ont entrance opens, as it were, into the first floor ; below
which, on the garden side, into which the house looks (for the door is the only aperture
on the side next the road), is a ground floor, with extensive arcades and open rooms, all
facing the garden ; and above are the principal rooms. It is spacious, and near the
entrance was a bath with all the necessary appendages ; in the rear the best rooms opened
upon a terrace, running the whole width of the house, and overlooking a garden, ov
xystus, about thirty yards squai-e : this was surrounded by a covered walk or portico
continued under the tciTace. The lower apartments, under the arcade, were paved
with mosaic work, with coved ceilings, and beautifully painted. One of the rooms had
a large glazed bow wdndow ; the glass was vci-y thick, of a green colour, and set in lead
like a modern casement. The walls and ceilings of the villa are ornamented with paintings
of elegant design, all of which have a relation to the uses of the apartments in
which they are. In the middle of the garden is a reservoir of water sun-ounded by
columns. The cellars extended under the whole of the house and the arcades. A
Ercnch author describes a Roman villa as a dwelling house and gardens an-anged on
two or three parallel esplanades iu fonn of steps, sustained by strong substmctions.
On the highest tenace the prætorium was erected, w^hich was the principal pavilion or
body of the house, divided into summer and winter apartments, containing bed-rooms,
eating-hall, baths, and covered walks. The rustic buildings of the farm were distributed
upon tlie sides of the lower terraces, or at the end of the gardens. When such
a villa was placed upon the slope of a hill, it had only one front, and one exposure ;
but such as were elevated on the top of rising ground possessed varied views. The
esplanades or tenaces were, on such sites, carried round, foi-ming parallelograms one
above another. The main body of the building was flanked by two towers, or often
overlooked by a square one, in which was an apartment for the guests to sup in, and to
enjoy the prospect. (G. X. Meason.)
52. The villas, gardens, and pleasure-grounds o f Pliny the consul, are described at
length in his Letters, and delineations of their ichnography have been published by
Félibien in 1699, and by Castell in 1728. Some things which could only be supplied
by the imagination are to be found in both these authors ; but 03i the whole thefr plans,
especially those of Castell, may be considered as conveying a tolerably con-cct idea of a
first-rate Roman villa, as in the Laurentinum, and of an extensive country residence, as
in the Thuscum. Pliny died a . d . 113.
53. The Villa Laurentina ( fg . 6.) was a winter residence on the Tiber, between Rome
and the sea; the situation is near Paterno, seventeen miles from Rome, and is now called
San Lorenzo. The garden was small, and is but slightly described. I t was sun-ounded
by hedges of box, and, where that had failed, by rosemary. There were platforms and
terraces ; and figs, vines, and mulbenies were the fruit trees. Pliny seems to have
valued this retreat chiefly from its situation relatively to Rome and the surrounding
country, which no walls, fortresses, or belt of wood, hid fi-om his view. On this region
he expatiates with delight, pointing out all “ the beauty of his woods, his rich meadows
covered with cattle, the bay of Ostia, the scattered villas upon its shore, and the blue
distance of the mountains ; his porticoes and seats for different views, and his favourite
little cabinet, in whicli they were all united. So great was Pliny’s attention in this particular,
that he not only contrived to see some part of tliis luxm-ious landscape from
cvei-y room in his house, but even while he was batliing, and when he reposed himself ;
and he tells us of a couch which had one view at the head, another at the feet, and
another at the back ! ’’ ( Preface to the Introduction to Girardin’s Essay, &c. p. 20.) We
may add, with Eustace and other modern travellers, that the same general appearance of
woods and meadows exists there to this day.