The Villa Lante is a magical place. The natural beauty of the terra firma of this region of Italy is made perfect through the Renaissance ideals encapsulated in the pleasure villa. The Roman concept of otium, or retreat from the business of the city, is evident in every aspect of the villa, as it firmly dwells within the world of the garden expressed through Italian Renaissance humanism. This is the villa of a cardinal--a prince of the church. The villa takes advantage of the natural slope of the land to create a series of terraced platforms in which the symbolism of the garden is overlaid. It is steeped in symbolism that literally takes the visitor on a journey in which water is the nucleus of the garden. In this way, the villa is indebted to the Villa d'Este; however at the Villa Lante, as the source of the water flows through channels and fountains, the natural world in microcosm is revealed.
