Works

(1979-1984) - San Zenone degli Ezzelini (Treviso) - Park with pool and tennis court at Villa di Rovero

The park (17,000 hectares) surrounds the splendid 16th-century Villa di Rovero on a rise dominating the valley. The hilly configuration and the extent of the surface area were such as to leave the Landscape architect a free expressive rein; he modeled the terrain of a large portion of the park and inserted functional, modern elements: a pool and relative auxiliary facilities, and a tennis court.

The wide drive in pebbles and stone leading to the villa is flanked by trees (prevalently _Cedrus atlantica)_, shrubs (_Rhododendron, Azalea, Sarcocca, Skimmia)_, and ground covers (_Convallaria japonica, Ruscus hypoglossum, Hedera algeriensis)_. The plaza at the end of the drive, at the rear of the villa, is an ample space, partly grassed and partly in gravel (in the car parking area). A narrow passage is the start of a path, bordered by cypresses and high hedges (_Prunus laurocerasus rotundifolia, Taxus baccata, Carpinus betulus, Chamacerasus pileata,_ etc.) leading to the pool area and the tennis court. The sober, linearly-styled pool appears unexpectedly beyond a low hedge. Set in a lawn overlooking the valley, it is surrounded on three sides by trees and shrubs and adorned with flowering shrubs and plants (roses, _Hibiscus_, Japanese anemones, _Iris kaempferi_, etc.). The overflow, which carries off fallen leaves from the surface of the water, runs into a channel and is recirculated. The various different levels along the path are nuanced by plantings of shrubs (hornbeams, laurels, boxwood, _Abelia_, etc.) and creepers _(Hypericum calicinum, Hedera algeriensis, Lonicera pileata_, etc.). (Ph.: © Paola Porcinai)