MEDIEVAL, RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE PERIODS
TEXTS FOR SELF-STUDY
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Read the text and make a summary of it.
THE HISTORY OF GARDENING
As early as the 3rd millennium BC, the Egyptians planted gardens within the walled enclosures surrounding their homes. In time these gardens came to be formally laid out around a rectangular fish pond flanked by orderly rows of fruit trees and ornamental plants, as seen in tomb paintings.
In Mesopotamia, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the World. They included full-size trees planted on earth-covered terraces raised on stone vaults in a corner of the palace complex of Nebuchadnezzar II. In the highlands to the north, the Assyrians and Persians developed great tree-filled parks for hunting on horseback. They also planned rectangular walled formal gardens, irrigated by pools and canals and shaded by trees, usually set in vast barren plains. These gardens symbolized paradise and inspired Persian carpet designs.
In ancient Greece, sacred groves were preserved as the habitats of divinities. Greek houses included a walled court or garden usually surrounded by a colonnade. In 5th-century BC Athens public gardens and colonnaded walks attached to the Academy (“school”) and the Lyceum (“gymnasium”) were much frequented by philosophers and their disciples.
Roman houses, similar to Greek houses, included a colonnaded garden, as depicted in wall paintings at Pompeii and as described by Pliny the Elder. Villas on the hilly terrain near Rome were designed with terraced gardens. Rich Romans, such as Lucullus, Maecenas, and Sallust, laid out lavish pleasure grounds including porticoes, banqueting halls, and sculpture. The vast grounds of the Emperor Hadrian's villa near Tivoli (2nd century AD) were magnificently landscaped. The Roman populace enjoyed gardens attached to the public baths.
TEXT № 2
Read and translate the text and speak about the difference between gardens in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods.
MEDIEVAL, RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE PERIODS
In medieval Europe, ravaged by invasions and incessant wars, gardens were generally small and enclosed for protection within the fortified walls of monasteries and castles. At the 9th century Swiss abbey of St. Gall the large garden was divided into four areas, for herbs, vegetables, fruits, and flowers. The gardens of most monasteries were surrounded by cloistered walks and had a well or fountain at the center, possibly inspired by Persian gardens, which was intended to enhance meditation. Castles might have a kitchen or herb garden, a private ornamental garden for the lord and lady, and a larger grassy area for the pleasure of the court.
During the Renaissance in Italy when conditions became more stable, castles gave way to palaces and villas with extensive grounds landscaped in the Roman tradition. The architect of the house usually designed its setting as well, thus ensuring a harmonious relationship between the two. The symmetrical, classically inspired plan of the house was repeated in the grounds. Laid out along a central axis, avenues, walks, and steps led from terrace to terrace, which, wherever possible, afforded fine views of the countryside. Borders of tall, dark cypresses and clipped yew hedges, geometric flower beds, stone balustrades, fountains, and sculptures conformed strictly to the overall plan. Examples from the 15th century include the gardens of the Medici, Palmieri, and La Pietra villas in or near Florence. Among increasingly formal and elaborate villa complexes in the 16th century are the Villa Lante in Bagnaia and the Villa Farnese in Caprarola, both designed by Giacomo da Vignola. Others are the Villa Madama and the Villa Medici in Rome and the Villa d'Este in Tivoli.
Italian gardens of the 17th century became even more complex in the dramatic baroque style. They were distinguished by lavish use of serpentine lines, groups of sculptured allegorical figures in violent movement, and a multiplicity of spouting fountains and waterfalls. Examples are the Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati, Villa Garzoni in Collodi, Villa Giovio in Como, and the gardens on the Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore.
Modified versions of Italian Renaissance and baroque gardens appeared throughout Europe. In Spain, Moorish and Renaissance elements were combined in the gardens of the Alcázar in Seville. Dutch gardens of geometric flower beds were enclosed by brick walls. In France the great châteaus of the Loire valley, such as Chambord and Chenonceaux, were laid out with formal gardens, called parterres, and with extensive forested parks.
In the 17th century, France replaced Italy as the primary inspiration of architectural and landscape design. The vast building programs of Louis XIV included miles of symmetrically arranged gardens, which, like royal architecture of the period, were designed to give an impression of limitless grandeur. The director of the royal gardens, André Le Nôtre, created at Versailles a series of great, open parterres that formed geometric patterns when seen from above. Beyond them stretched lawns and shrubbery merging into woodland. The grounds were regularly intersected by radiating alleys lined with trees or hedges and embellished with fountains, pavilions, and statuary placed axially in the main lines of view. Versailles and its immense gardens became the norm for ambitious rulers and spawned splendid imitations in dozens of kingdoms and principalities throughout Europe.
The pupils of Le Nôtre designed the great gardens at Salzburg, Nymphenburg (now in Munich), and Sans Souci in Potsdam. In Austria the most notable example of French influence was at Schönbrunn. French influence was also evident in 18th century Dutch gardens, as at Middachten Castle, and in the gardens at Aranjuez and La Granja in Spain. Le Nôtre himself designed the gardens at Chantilly, St. Cloud, and Fontainebleau in France; Kensington Gardens and St. James's Park in London; and the Quirinal and Vatican gardens in Rome. In Sweden and Russia the work of Le Nôtre was imitated for the great palaces of Drottningholm (near Stockholm) and Pushkin and Peterhof (both near Saint Petersburg). Simpler versions of the French formal style were adopted in America, as in the governor's palace gardens at Williamsburg. Spanish colonists laid out similar gardens in Mexico, California, and other parts of the New World.
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