The Gardens of the Vatican

About this book

Twenty-seven years in the making The Gardens of the Vatican is a private photographic tour of eight centuries of green thoughts in a green shade. The several gardens in the Vatican territory reflect the history of gardens in general. In addition to the Persian-influenced quadrant gardens of the Teuton Cemetery and the Secret garden adorned with lemon-trees in pots there are gardens in the Italian French and English styles. The book is rich in anecdote and detail: Pope John XXIII liked to ramble along the pathways and chat with the gardeners. His predecessor Pius XII wanted solitude so the gardeners were obliged to hide. There is a fragment of the Berlin Wall a Chinese pavilion given by the Catholics of that country and a gnarled old olive tree transplanted from Gethsemane in the Holy Land. The Gardens of the Vatican offers a fascinating and inspiring glimpse of a bachelors refuge through eight centuries of history.