La Foce: A Garden and Landscape in Tuscany (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture) [Hardcover]

Benedetta Origo (Author), Laurie Olin (Author), John Dixon Hunt (Author), Morna Livingston (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture | Publication Date: September 28, 2001

The gardens and estate of La Foce constitute one of the most important and best kept early twentieth-century gardens in Italy. Amid 3,500 acres of farmland in the countryside near Pienza, with sweeping views of the Tuscan landscape, La Foce was the childhood dream garden of the late writer Marchesa Iris Origo. Passionate about the order and symmetry of Florentine gardens, Origo and her husband, Antonio, purchased the dilapidated villa in 1924, soliciting the help of English architect and family friend Cecil Pinsent to reawaken the natural magic of the property. Pinsent designed the structure of simple, elegant, box-edged beds and green enclosures that give shape to the Origos' shrubs, perennials, and vines, and created a garden of soaring cypress walks, native cyclamen, lawns, and wildflower meadows. It is, by all accounts, a remarkable achievement.

Today the garden is a place of unusual and striking beauty, a green oasis in the barren Siena countryside. Situated in the Val d'Orcia, a wide valley in southeastern Tuscany that seems to exist on a larger, wilder scale than the rest of the Tuscan landscape, it is run by Benedetta and Donata Origo, and is open to the public one day a week.

La Foce: A Garden and Landscape in Tuscany is a contemplative, multifaceted study of the house, gardens, and estate of La Foce. It includes a historical essay and memoir by the daughter of La Foce's creators, Antonio and Iris Origo, along with photographs, sketches, and a critical analysis of the gardens. The volume not only focuses on the beauty of the gardens themselves and their indisputable merit as fascinating works of landscape architecture but also sees them within the context of both the larger Tuscan topography and the wider landscape of geography and history. The book will be a delight to armchair travelers, trade and landscape architects, gardeners, and those interested in Tuscan culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[A] feast to the eyes and an excellent read."—Hortus

About the Author

Benedetta Origo is a musician and owner of La Foce; Morna Livingston is Professor of Design, Drawing, and Vernacular Architecture at Philadelphia University; Laurie Olin is a Practicing Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and Principal of Olin Partnership; John Dixon Hunt is Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press; 1st edition (September 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812235932
• ISBN-13: 978-0812235937
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Garden In All Its Glory, November 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: La Foce: A Garden and Landscape in Tuscany (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture) (Hardcover)

La Foce is an attractive Tuscan villa which is presented here in text and pictures. The text offers a picture of one family's history, including interesting archival photographs and drawings. What makes this book truly spectacular, however, are Morna Livingston's photographs, presented in a beautiful layout and printed on a silky white paper which heightens the luminesence of the incredible Tuscan colors. In more than one hundred photographs Livingiston captures the villa's gardens in every light and season. There are stunning images of the broader landscape and fascinating details of both the architecture and the plants. For those who have wondered just what the attraction of Tuscany is, you will find the answer here. For those who already know, this will serve as a reminder.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars La Foce: A Garden and Landscape in Tuscany, May 15, 2005

By 

Otto J. Fafoglia "oxford cook" (Chatham, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: La Foce: A Garden and Landscape in Tuscany (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture) (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book. It bodes one well to have read Iris Origo's autobiography to help understand much of the background of La Foce, although Benedetta Origo does an excellent job of providing background, too. The combination of the estate's background, color photographs and sketches by the authors makes this book an excellent buy, especially if one is interested in Italian gardens and their development. Maps, too, have been included to give one a sense of location. Beautifully done.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful book, January 4, 2008

By 

C. Grant "Caroline" (Western Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: La Foce: A Garden and Landscape in Tuscany (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture) (Hardcover)

First I must make it clear that I have been interested in Iris Origo for a long time. When I discovered this book, it was a delight because it not only showed a perspective on Iris and Antonio Origo's life, but it contains beautiful photographs and drawings and is a joy to own. I find myself looking it up with the flimsiest of reasons, and enjoy it every time.