Great Italian Gardens: From Milan to Naples with Dr. Toby Musgrave
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Renaissance-era Italy has provided a plethora of marvels for modern travelers to explore. Too often overshadowed by paintings and sculptures held in museums, are Italy's gorgeous gardens. These extravagant, breath-taking and innovative works of art revolutionized European garden design and which and still inspire present-day garden designers and guests. Today Italy’s remarkable gardens boast contemporary masterpieces as diverse as they are beautiful. During our time together in this seminar, we will take an adventure through a medley of glamorous public gardens in four distinct regions of Italy.
Beginning from Rome and Campagna, we'll stop by the hidden Vatican Gardens and Palazzo del Quirinale. Then we'll proceed ahead to the spectacular Villa d’Este at Tivoli, the bizarre Bomarzo, the sublime Villa Lante, and the romantic Garden of Ninfa.
From there we set out for Florence and Environs, to experience the grandiose Boboli Gardens and the privately-owned Villa Torrigiani. We'll also dive into the Medici villas at Castello, Petraia and Fiesole, the elegant Villa Gamberaia, and the private Fattoria di Celle with its world-renowned collection of site-specific sculpture.
We'll conclude our journey with a stopover and Venice and travels through the lakes on Lombardy. We'll discover the extravaganza of Isola Bella and Villa Taranto on Lake Maggiore, and Villas Carlotta, Cicogna Mozzoni and Melzi on Lake Como. Our conversation will also spotlight the Palazzo Malipiero, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the Fondazione Querini Stampalia and the Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore in Venice
Led by an expert on gardens and garden history, Dr. Toby Musgrave, this interactive seminar will showcase and celebrate a selection of Italy’s great and inspiring gardens. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with increased knowledge and understanding of Italy’s great and diverse, and inspiring botanical history.
This seminar is a part of Context Learning's ongoing series featuring International Gardens. For more details, please click here.
Dr. Toby Musgrave is a foremost authority on the subjects of garden and plant history and design, about which he has authored or co-authored 18 books. Most recently "The Garden: Elements and Styles" and "The Multifarious Mr. Banks." He is a part-time Faculty Lecturer at the Danish Institute of Studies Abroad in his adopted country, Denmark, where he teaches American study abroad students. Between semesters he works as a gardens tour leader and as a lecturer aboard small, expedition cruise ships. Additionally, he acts as a consultant to various garden restoration projects and has written numerous articles for a range of magazines and newspapers including The Garden, Gardens Illustrated, The English Garden, Country Life, The Times, The Telegraph, Haven, and Jyllands Posten. His own garden is one of the de Runde Haver. For more information about Toby and his work please visit www.TobyMusgrave.com.
This conversation is suitable for all ages.
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
Adequate, but a bit disappointing. I expected a "wow" effect because a lot of Italian gardens are spectular, but the presentation was a bit dry.
His knowledge of the gardens is just fine but his ability to present and engage is a bit rough. He alternates between talking perfectly clearly to a rather garbled sotto voce and his pronunciation of the Italian words was almost excruciating. I recommend he learn to pronounce the Italian words properly that he is going to use in the talk, and try to maintain a clear presenting voice throughout.