The gardens on this study abroad are very amazing and they take your breath away as you walk through them. There are many gardens that we visited while we were gone, and each one of them was unique. Most of them told a story as you journeyed through them, and each sculpture, plant, and fountain has a meaning and a purpose for being there. Before this trip, I thought that all gardens were created to just be pleasing to the eye and show off beautiful flowers. While this is one of the purposes of many gardens, there is much more that goes into it. I really enjoyed getting to know the backstory of all of the garden creators, because most 0f the time their gardens reflected much of their history, characteristics, and relationships. The different styles of gardens and how they were impacted by different painters were very cool to learn about and be able to actually see as well. The particular garden that is featured is located at Villa d’Este, located in an Italian hillside village named Tivoli.
This garden had some of the most amazing water features of any that we saw. There was a long stretch of 100 small fountains, ornate statues, and a water organ that we got to hear play. This study abroad really allowed me to appreciate gardens in a whole new way. I learned so much on this trip from world history to art history to garden history. Probably one of the most valuable lessons I learned was just how large and detailed the history of the world really is and how much more of it I have to explore and understand. This class was a great way to start because in many cases we would get to see a painting in a museum and then the next day see how someone found inspiration and created a garden from it.
