In three lectures, James Bolton will explore :

1.  Gardens of Italy from the Emperor Hadrian to the Emperor Napoleon. A survey of the development of Italian gardens from the Roman gardens of the 1st century AD to the English style gardens of the end of the 18th century. We start in Tivoli and then move tp Renaissance Florence at at the height of Medici power and splendour, from there to 16th century Rome and the wonders of the Villa d'Este (a return to Tivoli). The charm of the Villa Lante contrasts with the disturbing monsters of Bomarzo and the serenity of Castello Ruspoli. The Baroque glories of Frascati, the Villa Garzoni and Isola Bella on LakeMaggiore are the last great effort before Italian gardeing became anglicised at the end of the 18th century.

2. The Perils and Pleasures of the 18th Century Traveller's Journey to Italy: 
The Grand Tour was a largely eighteenth century phenomenon, akin to the Gap Year of today, which reached the height of popularity in the years between 1715 and 1789. In its heyday, scores of young men (and a sprinkling of enterprising women) were dispatched by parents and guardians, to acquire at least a veneer of culture. This lecture follows the progress of a Grand Tourist through Europe, largely through contemporary paintings, gives examples of some of the souvenirs they returned with and tells of some of the difficulties facing the intrepid traveller in the pre-railway age

3. The Influence of Italy on 18th century English Gardens.
The revolution in garden design in the 18th century which brought about the English Landscape Garden was the result of a number of influences, among them The Grand Tour. Gentlemen and aristocrats, returning from Italy, inispired by the classical ruins around Rome, Renaissance villas and the landscape of the Roman campagna, determined to surround their newly built classical country houses with a suitably Italian landscape. The result was the transformation of England by both professionsal and amateur gardeners, from William Kent and Lord Burlington to 'Capability' Brown. This lecture looks at the development of the landscape garden from the early attempts at Castle Howard and Blenheim, via Stowe and Rousham, to the mature style at Stourhead, Petworth and so many others.