Edith Wharton's Italian Gardens

by Vivian Russell and Edith Wharton

This is a story of two journeys, separated by almost a century, yet both focusing on Italian gardens. In 1903, Edith Wharton was commissioned by Century Magazine to write a series of articles on Italian villas and gardens. She selected 70, and spent six months visiting them by train, carriage, bicycle, and even by motor car. She took her own photographs, made copious notes, and her scholarly approach turned what might have been a series of frivolous articles into material for a book (1904) that has been in print ever since. Nearly 100 years later, Vivian Russell followed in Wharton’s footsteps. Some gardens had been obliterated by two World Wars, others by tourism or simply by neglect. But many remained, unspoiled and virtually unknown, some from as far back as the Renaissance. The book provides detailed practical information on where the gardens are and how to find them. Historical maps and plans are included.

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