Tivoli, Villa D'este, (Gardens) Italy

The gardens at the Villa D'este are probably the most spectacular I think I have ever seen and besides cleansing the creative spirit they do bring a kind of inner peace. The gardens contain 500 jets in fountains, pools and troughs of water. Guiding one throughout the space are a series of inclines and steps, Cris-crossing around a central axis. At every turn there is something else to see which draws to viewer toward it. If this were a commercial space it would probably be enormously successful and therefore there are particular lessons to be learned in relation to creating focal points, pause points and so on. Throughout the gardens there are sudden surprises at every turn and perfect for those of you seeking inspiration from viewing Classical Architecture and renaissance spaces. The Cardinals also certainly had a sense of humour. Well, they were Borgia's, and known for their rape, bribery, incest and murder, although the below image is very tame by today's standards.

Tivoli, Ville D'este, Italy

About an hours bus ride from Rome is the Villa D'este. Built in a remarkable 1572, this Renaissance palace built by Ippolito II D'este and Lucrezia Borgia (of the Borgia's infamy of ruthless Machiavellian politics and sexual corruption characteristic of the Renaissance Papacy). The Palace is now a UNESCO world heritage site and has the most incredible gardens (which I will show tomorrow). I love to look at these places for inspiration in my own work and as besides being so uplifting emotionally they are layered and loaded with so much History that they cannot do anything other than inspire so many ideas. While these ideas are not always used immediately one can store them and leave them to germinate over time and pull upon these resources when needed in the future. A little like a battery. Capturing the image of the place also reminds me of the whole experience and how I felt at the time. How this can be encapsulated into a Commercial Design environment, I don't know yet, but the answer always comes. In the meantime, if you just so happen to be in the area I'm sure it will be on your list of things to do.