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36-564: Villa Lante did not become well known until it passed to Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere , Duke of Bomarzo , in the 17th century, when it was already 100 years old. The Villa, a property of the Republic of Italy , since December 2014, is run by the Polo Museale del Lazio . The Villa Lante is formed by two casini (houses), nearly identical but built by different owners in a period separated by 30 years. Each square building has

72-467: A hydraulics engineer and architect from Siena , was called in; it is thought that his role was to oversee the hydraulics and building work. Although the renowned antiquarian and architect Pirro Ligorio was also consulted, it seems likely that the success of the water features is due to Ghinucci's expertise which ensured that water flows through the gardens to this day. The Quadrato is a perfectly square parterre . The twin casini stand on one side, on

108-470: A central channel with water flowing to keep the wine cool. At the back of this terrace, are large sculpted river gods flanking a fountain. Directly above and supplying the water for the fountain is the catena d'acqua or chain of water, a water feature ( gioco d'acqua ) that can be seen in other 16th-century gardens (such as the Villa Farnese and Villa d'Este ); this rill of small basins allows

144-399: A ground floor of rusticated arcades or loggias which support a piano nobile above. Each facade on this floor has just three windows, alternating round or pointed pediments . Each window is divided by pilasters in pairs. An upper floor is merely hinted at by small rectangular, mezzanine type, windows above those of the piano nobile. Each casino is then crowned by a lantern in the summit of

180-568: A number of significant improvements to the Villa and its gardens, and commissioned Pietro da Cortona to paint the Allegory of War and Peace . Many of Cortona's previous commissions had come from the Barberini family including Pope Urban VIII and Francesco Barberini . Lante later became close to Francesco's nephew, Maffeo Barberini ( Prince of Palestrina ) who spent some time in residence at

216-480: A similar beverage. For example, tea made from C. sasanqua leaves is popular in some parts of Japan. Seeds of C. oleifera , C. japonica , and, to a lesser extent, other species such as C. crapnelliana , C. reticulata , C. sasanqua and C. sinensis as well are pressed to make tea seed oil , a sweet seasoning and cooking oil special to East Asia. It is the most important cooking oil for hundreds of millions of people, particularly in southern China. Camellia oil

252-411: A single red and a single white, grown and flowered in his garden at Thorndon Hall , Essex, by Robert James, Lord Petre , among the keenest gardeners of his generation, in 1739. His gardener James Gordon was the first to introduce camellias to commerce, from the nurseries he established after Lord Petre's untimely death in 1743, at Mile End, Essex, near London. With the expansion of the tea trade in

288-628: Is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae . They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in eastern and southern Asia , from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia . There are more than 220 described species . Camellias are popular ornamental, tea, and woody-oil plants cultivated worldwide for centuries. Over 26,000 cultivars, with more than 51,000 cultivar names, including synonyms, have been registered or published. Of economic importance in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and

324-419: Is a dry capsule , sometimes subdivided into up to five compartments. Each compartment contains up to eight seeds . The various species of camellia plants are generally well-adapted to acid soils rich in humus , and most species do not grow well on chalky soil or other calcium -rich soils. Most species of camellias also require a large amount of water, either from natural rainfall or from irrigation , and

360-558: Is commonly used to clean and protect the blades of cutting instruments. Camellia oil pressed from seeds of C. japonica , also called tsubaki oil or tsubaki-abura (椿油) in Japanese, has been traditionally used in Japan for hair care. C. japonica plant is used to prepare traditional antiinflammatory medicines. The earliest fossil record of Camellia are the leaves of † C. abensis from the upper Eocene of Japan , † C. abchasica from

396-526: Is the Fontana dei Lumini ("Fountain of the Lamps"), a circular tiered fountain; on the ledge of each tier, smaller fountains, imitating Roman oil lamps, spout small jets of water which in the sunlight appear to blaze like lamp flames. Camellias , and other ericaceous flowering shrubs added in the 19th century blaze in the shade of this terrace. On the next (third) terrace is a large and long stone table, with

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432-477: Is the aforementioned C. reticulata , grown commercially in thousands for horticulture and oil production but rare enough in its natural range to be considered a threatened species . Camellia sinensis , the tea plant, is of major commercial importance because tea is made from its leaves. The species C. sinensis is the product of many generations of selective breeding to bring out desirable qualities for tea. However, many other camellias can be used to produce

468-625: Is the most prominent species in cultivation, with over 2,000 named cultivars. Next are C. reticulata with over 400 named cultivars, and C. sasanqua with over 300 named cultivars. Popular hybrids include C. × hiemalis ( C. japonica × C. sasanqua ) and C. × williamsii ( C. japonica × C. saluenensis ). Some varieties can grow considerably, up to 100  m , though more compact cultivars are available. They are frequently planted in woodland settings alongside other calcifuges , such as rhododendrons . They are particularly associated with areas of high soil acidity, such as Cornwall and Devon in

504-408: The larvae of some Lepidoptera species. Leaves of Camellia japonica are susceptible to the fungal parasite Mycelia sterile (see below for the significance), mycelia sterile PF1022 produces a metabolite named PF1022A that is used to produce emodepside , an anthelmintic drug . Due to habitat destruction , several camellias have become rare in their natural range. One of these

540-437: The pantiled roof. These elaborate square lanterns too have pilasters, and windows both real and blind. Each of these casini, in their severe Mannerist style, was built by a different unrelated owner. Villa Lante was first commissioned by Cardinal Gianfrancesco Gambara who gives his surname to the first casino. It appears that work commenced in the late 1560s on the right-hand (as one enters) casino. The area selected for

576-596: The Genus Camellia , whose five handsome folio colored illustrations have usually been removed from the slender text and framed. Though they did not flower for over a decade, camellias that set seed rewarded their growers with a wealth of new varieties. By the 1840s, the camellia was at the height of its fashion as the luxury flower. The Parisian courtesan Marie Duplessis , who died young in 1847, inspired Dumas' La Dame aux camélias and Verdi's La Traviata . The fashionable imbricated formality of prized camellias

612-673: The Indian subcontinent, leaves of C. sinensis are processed to create the popular beverage tea . The ornamental C. japonica , C. sasanqua and their hybrids are the source of hundreds of garden cultivars . C. oleifera produces tea seed oil , used in cooking and cosmetics. The genus was named by Linnaeus after the Jesuit botanist Georg Joseph Kamel , who worked in the Philippines and described one of its species (although Linnaeus did not refer to Kamel's account when discussing

648-966: The Villa Lante. Lante's plan had been to alter the villa with more baroque art and architecture to move the estate away from the defensive military style with which it had first been built. Some of his initial plans were accomplished, but the buildings remain a mix of architectural types. He also owned the Villa Lante al Gianicolo in Rome. Lante died on 29 June 1688 in the same city. On 11 February 1688, he married Maria Cristina d'Altemps, daughter of Pietro d'Altemps (Duke of Gallese and Marquis of Soriano ) and Angelica de' Medici  [ it ] (granddaughter of Giulio de' Medici ). They had four children: Camellia About 187, see text Camellia (pronounced / k ə ˈ m ɛ l i ə / or / k ə ˈ m iː l i ə / )

684-456: The complex, a centre basin contains the "Fontana dei Mori" by Giambologna : four life-sized moors stand square around two lions; they hold high the heraldic mountain surmounted by the star shaped fountain jet, the Montalto coat of arms . This is the focal point of this unusual composition of Casini and parterre. In the first of the ascending terraces , lodged between two stone staircases,

720-430: The development was an existing walled hunting ground, known as barco . It is thought that Gambara commissioned Vignola to design the project (the villa is only attributed to Vignola), and begin the work and the design of the gardens for which the villa was to become famous. The first casino and upper garden were quickly completed, but work was then suspended for the remainder of Gambara's lifetime. Gambara died in 1587 and

756-503: The fall of Rome. In the late 20th century the Villa was acquired by Dr. Angelo Cantoni , who completed a long program of restoration. It is now part of the Grandi Giardini Italiani . 42°25′33″N 12°9′17″E  /  42.42583°N 12.15472°E  / 42.42583; 12.15472 Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere (15 June 1618 – 29 June 1688)

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792-484: The family of Duke Ippolito Lante, in whose family it remained for many generations. In the 19th century the family, revived by an American heiress Duchess, (a daughter of Thomas Davies of New York ) still lived at Lante in some style: the Gambara Casino was lived in by the ducal family and the Montalto was reserved for their guests. In 1944 the gardens and casini were heavily damaged by Allied bombing after

828-433: The genus are characterized by a dense bouquet of conspicuous yellow stamens, often contrasting with the petal colors. Some research has shown that the colour of petals in some species' flowers indicate their size and how they are pollinated ; species with red or yellow flowers are pollinated by sunbirds whereas species with white flowers are smaller in diameter and are pollinated by bees. The fruit of camellia plants

864-601: The genus). Camellias are evergreen shrubs or small trees up to 20 m (66 ft) tall. Their leaves are alternately arranged, simple, thick, serrated, and usually glossy. Their flowers are usually large and conspicuous, one to 12 cm in diameter, with five to nine petals in naturally occurring species of camellias. The colors of the flowers vary from white through pink colors to red; truly yellow flowers are found only in South China and Vietnam. Tea varieties are always white-flowered. Camellia flowers throughout

900-608: The later 18th century, new varieties began to be seen in England, imported through the British East India Company . The Company's John Slater was responsible for the first of the new camellias, double ones, in white and a striped red, imported in 1792. Further camellias imported in the East Indiamen were associated with the patrons whose gardeners grew them: a double red for Sir Robert Preston in 1794 and

936-734: The lower Oligocene of Bulgaria and † C. multiforma from the lower Oligocene of Washington , United States . Camellias were cultivated in the gardens of China for centuries before they were seen in Europe. The German botanist Engelbert Kaempfer reported that the "Japan Rose", as he called it, grew wild in woodland and hedgerow, but that many superior varieties had been selected for gardens. Europeans' earliest views of camellias must have been their representations in Chinese painted wallpapers, where they were often represented growing in porcelain pots. The first living camellias seen in England were

972-588: The main axis of the garden. A roughened texture has been given to the sides of these small buildings to harmonise with the natural rough rock of the Fountain, and water conduits set in their eaves (and operated by a remote switch) project jets of water to complete a visual ensemble known as the 'theatre of the waters'. The main facades of these small casini, like their grander relations on the lower terrace, feature Serliana loggias articulated by Ionic columns, suggesting they might have been designed by Vignola. They bear

1008-418: The name of Cardinal Gambara engraved on the cornices. One casino gives access to a small secret garden, a garden of hedges and topiary, with a line of columns creating an air of an almost melancholic nature. A perspective plan of 1609 shows a wooded area of walks and vistas to obelisks , plus a maze which has since disappeared. Following the demise of Lante's last cardinal owner in 1656, the villa passed to

1044-566: The pale pink named "Lady Hume's Blush" for Amelia, the lady of Sir Abraham Hume of Wormleybury , Hertfordshire (1806). The camellia was imported from England to America in 1797 when Colonel John Stevens brought the flower as part of an effort to grow attractions within Elysian Fields in Hoboken , New Jersey . By 1819, twenty-five camellias had bloomed in England; that year the first monograph appeared, Samuel Curtis's, A Monograph on

1080-482: The plants will not tolerate droughts . However, some of the more unusual camellias – typically species from karst soils in Vietnam – can grow without too much water. Camellia plants usually have a rapid growth rate. Typically, they will grow about 30 cm per year until mature – however, this varies depending on their variety and geographical location. Camellia plants are used as food plants by

1116-410: The remaining three sides the garden is enclosed by high box hedges . In the centre, low box is sculpted and formed into decorative patterns around small fountains and sculptures . The main feature of this parterre is the complex fountain at its centre, formed of four basins, separated by parapeted walks, the parapets decorated with stone pineapples and urns that intersect the water. At the heart of

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1152-504: The vaulted frescoed loggias are a riot of colour highlighting the architectural detail, while in the Montalto Casino the principal reception room is a combination of fresco and plaster sculpture, almost trompe-l'œil . The gardens of the Villa Lante feature cascades, fountains and dripping grottoes . The visual and harmonious choreography of water and the mechanical perfection of its flow was only achieved after Tommaso Ghinucci,

1188-573: The water to ripple down to arrive at the fountain between the sculpted crayfish claws, a reference to Cardinal Gambero's heraldic device. In the meantime, stairs flanking the catena d'acqua lead up to the next terrace. On the next upper terrace are yet further fountains and grottos and two small casini called the Houses of the Muses, the sides of which frame the large Fountain of the Deluge that terminates

1224-408: Was an Italian nobleman and Duke of Bomarzo . Lante was the son of Marcantonio Lante (1566–1643) and his wife Lucrezia della Rovere. He was nephew to his father's brother, Cardinal Marcello Lante della Rovere . His brother, Lodovico Lante, married Olimpia Cesi, daughter of Federico Cesi , Duke of Acquasparta . He purchased the Villa at Bagnaia and it became known as the Villa Lante . He made

1260-539: Was an element in their decline, replaced by the new hothouse orchid . Their revival after World War I as woodland shrubs for mild climates has been paralleled by the rise in popularity of Camellia sasanqua . The tea camellia, C. sinensis , has been selected by many commercial cultivars for the taste of its leaves once processed into tea leaves. Today, camellias are grown as ornamental plants for their flowers; about 3,000 cultivars and hybrids have been selected, many with double or semi-double flowers. C. japonica

1296-468: Was succeeded as Apostolic Administrator of Viterbo by the 17-year-old nephew of Pope Sixtus V , Cardinal Alessandro Peretti di Montalto . It was this mere youth who completed the project at Bagnaia and built the second casino. The two casini differ most in their frescoes: frescoes of landscapes in the Gambara and in the Montalto frescoes by a later artist in a more classical style. In the Gambara Casino

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