Exploring Italian Gardens

Join landscape architect / artist Lisa Guthrie and landscape historian and longtime lecturer at University of California Berkeley, Tom Brown in exploring the greatest gardens of Umbria and Lazio. These gardens, full of fantasy and sensory delight, have inspired artists and designers for over four centuries. They relate, through sculpture and ornamentation, mythical allegories. Their charm comes not only from flowers, but also from the contrasts of dark green foliage with gray stone and white marble, cool shade and warm sun and everywhere the animation of water. In illustrated talks before we visit the gardens, Tom will relate their history, show how they have changed through time and explain their meaning and features.

You will relive ancient delights as we retrace the original routes of seeing the gardens, then wander on your own to discover more. Part of the fun is sharing our impressions and experiences; Lisa has taught numerous watercolor workshops at La Romita and will show us ways of creating our personal souvenir memoirs of our adventure, through sketches, photography, and written vignettes. We travel leisurely, visiting only two or three sites a day to have time to absorb their special ambiance and make our own discoveries. We also plan to visit several Umbrian hill towns as yet unspoiled by tourism.