Customer Reviews

Italian Gardens

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Don't judge the book by the cover". No, that would be a serious mistake since the cover photo is as crisp and clear as you could ever wish for. The same doesn't apply to the photos inside alas. A third of them are almost good, a third are of poor quality and the rest are disasterous. Hazy, unclear, no focus. Many taken in strong sunlight with pitch-black shadows and colors like fifties postcards from East Germany. And a book like this, with rather a small amount of text and a great deal of pictures, you buy for the pictures. Not a good idea.
The choice of gardens are (mainly) not the most celebrated and featured classical gardens, but lesser known ones and from all centuries. This is a good idea that makes this book a complement to such like Edith Whartons Italian Gardens, which I rate very highly.

This one is certainly not meant as a guidebook, rather something to flip through at leisure. I agree with the previous reviewer that the photos could have been much more nuanced (they look a bit flat and overexposed as they must have been taken in full bright sunlight - not the best idea) but they are not really atrocious either and some have good composition. I certainly appreciated the interesting choice of villas, as I was looking in particular for a few I had visited.