The present shape of the garden is the result of several trials and changes which took place over a 30-year period. This one-acre hillside terrain has been the ground on which the architect has developed his professional landscaping craft.
One third of the lot is flat and sits on the upper portion of a hill while the remaining two thirds are gently sloping downhill. The key idea was to create a number of closed-in open-air spaces accessible from one another – a series of contemporary hortus conclusus whose boundaries are marked by tall hedges and espaliers. A four-side pergola holding an old vine defines a mini-garden reminiscent of an ancient pomarius: at the center, a circular basin where water lilies float and papyrus cast a lovely shadow. Next is a circular ‘room’ closed all around by a pittosporum hedge: at the center of the lawn stands a ceramic installation called Columnarie. created by the architect himself. An alternative path leads to a small citrus grove closed by a jasmine espalier.
The gently sloping lowest portion of the site suggests the idea of an amphitheatre: a double hemicycle of stone steps backed by palms in a semicircle has been set to create a novel ‘Teatro di Verzura’.
The alley flanked by olive trees which leads from the lower gate to the house ends up into the square ‘Palm tree courtyard’ closed by cypress trees on three sides.