Villa d’Este

Sep 12, 2009

Detail of the Water Organ (1902).

Samples from a set of pictures at LUNA Commons of the wonderful water gardens at the Villa d’Este, Tivoli, Italy. Among the 164 items in the collection are plans, engravings, and photographs old and new. I’m partial to the older photos, most of which seem to be photogravure reproductions whose temporal distance and technical shortcomings only add to the mystique of the place.

Alley of the hundred fountains (1997).

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Gertrude Käsebier’s crystal gazer
• The Door in the Wall
• Paris II: The River Fountain

3 comments or trackbacks

#1 posted by Paul Rumsey

Sep 12th, 2009

And can be seen in the Kenneth Anger film Eaux D’artifice.
#2 posted by John

Sep 12th, 2009

Indeed. I can rarely look at photos of the place without hearing Vivaldi. I like the way Anger made the gardens seem a lot more impressive by using (if I remember correctly) a very small woman as the sole human figure; he relates the details on the recent DVDs. A nice example of doing in real life what Piranesi used to do with his pictures.
#3 posted by Nathalie

Sep 14th, 2009

Too bad the gardens are over crowded with tourists…