Villa Lante

In the town of Bagnaia, a 15 minutes bus ride from Viterbo, is Villa Lante. The sign above indicates that Villa Lante is one of the 10 best gardens in Italy.

The gardens, built on a hillside and divided into three levels, it has been interpreted as having representations of the four elements. Another interpretation is that the fountains represent the different states of the control of water. The captions I give are the second interpretation

At the top of the gardens, water, comes from the ground or here out of a wall in an uncontrolled state.

The sixteen dolphins here show the water represented in the sea.

This sloped channel represents water in river form.

I believe this can be interpreted as water in man-made channels.

The water now flows into the second fountain, The Fountain of the Gods.

Here is a table for people to eat. There is a basin down the middle to indicate water as supporting life.

Villa Lante has always been a garden held by religious figures or wealthy citizens. Here's one of the homes on the grounds.

Looking down onto the final and largest garden with the fountain in the middle (the only one with right angles) interpreted as man's complete control of water.

This is the first in an ongoing series of photos I will post called, "Italian Men Sitting on Benches." I find their faces and postures so interesting and charming. I also am on my way to becoming one of them myself as I spend much time myself sitting on benches clearing my mind.

Here's a three photos I took from my trip to Italy back in 2007. These are men from Bologna.

This series will be ongoing, I hope you enjoy it.