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| The parterre of Villa Gamberaia |
Villa Gamberaia, celebrated for its unique gardens and splendid views over the city of Florence and the Arno Valley, has long inspired American and British landscape designers, from Charles Platt and Cecil Pinsent to Ellen Biddle Shipman. In the early 1900s, it was the favorite meeting place of Bernard and Mary Berenson, Janet Ross, Vernon Lee and Arthur Acton, who gathered for tea, dinners on the terrace and talks on art and literature with their hostess, the Romanian princess Jeanne Ghyka and her American companion, artist Florence Blood, two very talented women who created the magnificent parterre d’eau.
The number of participants will be limited. A small group of guests (probably 6-12 persons) seeking both a tranquil setting away from crowds of tourists and a convenient base for visits to Florence and to the neighboring villas of Fiesole and Settignano, will be accommodated in the Villa Gamberaia guest-houses. All visits, on-site lectures and workshops are planned and will be conducted by art historians and landscape architects resident in Florence.
I can't reveal the details yet, but the week will include lunches and aperativi at villas, gardens and other sites in and around Florence that are otherwise almost impossible for the ordinary visitor to access. There will be lunches and dinners at Villa Gamberaia.
Click the following link for more information on this unique one week exploration of the Florentine villas and gardens of the American and English expatriates in Tuscany.
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Author: Anna Maria Baldini
