In foliis folia, II
Giardini e orti botanici

(Botanical and kitchen-gardens from the Biblioteca Estense, Modena)
Il Bulino, Modena 1995


NOT AVAILABLE ANYMORE

In Italian - Edited by A. Battini and M. Bini - 23.5x31 cm, 272 pages, 191 illustrations, colour and b/w.


A history and illustration of the Italian and European garden from the 14th to the 18th century through the books in the Biblioteca Estense collections: illuminated manuscripts, xylographic prints in the incunabula, etchings in the 16th century works and printed books, the priceless hand-coloured originals from the 18th century and a manuscript with its watercolours for the design of the Petit Trianon prepared for Marie Antoinette in the grounds of the Versailles Palace. The author, supported by a huge literature on the subject, goes over the expressions of the idea of garden throughout the times, starting from the primitive utopian concept of ideal delightful "hortus" up to the late 18th century achievements of a mature European taste, through the formulations of the French and English patterns. A long journey through the history of human culture and civilization, among ideals and handworks, myths and worship, from the pensile gardens of Babylon to the Greek "paradeisos", from Latin "ars topiaria" to medieval and Renaissance lanscapes. The resarch is enriched by a prestigious iconography and by bibliographic cataloguing.