The Secret Garden

Ascending on the left...

crossing the large meadow that opens before the cypress trees, or passing beneath one of the gazebos in the gentle shade of a small grove, the “Secret” Garden is revealed: a secluded and intimate place, conceived by Valadier as a self-contained space.

Here, the geometry of Italian garden art is clearly expressed: enclosed by a perimeter hedge, access was once granted through two gates.

The Secret Garden evokes the atmosphere of the Enlightenment, an age inclined to create spaces suspended between reality and imagination. Cobbled paths, ancient walls, a stone arch, a fountain—then known as the “Peschiera”—and a rare horizontal sundial (the only example alongside that of Villa Redenta) compose a richly evocative sequence. In the past, Roman statues populated these quiet spaces, while light iron railings traced the paths, completing the scenography of a place designed for contemplation.

The garden takes on a form reminiscent of the “Pecile” (a small Roman hippodrome), an elongated ellipse oriented along a north–south axis, articulated by orderly flowerbeds and concluded by a semicircle facing east. From here, a flight of steps leads to a classically inspired belvedere shrine, known as the “Tempietto”, from which the view opens onto the surrounding landscape.

During the recent restoration of the park, the Secret Garden was one of the principal areas of intervention. The exedra with its central staircase, the Tempietto, the sundial, and the fountain were all carefully restored.

The masonry structures, worn by time, were consolidated. The Tempietto required targeted work to address deep cracks and surface deterioration, while missing stone elements were reconstructed. Thanks to historical photographs and the plans described by Gui, it was also possible to restore the characteristic stone acorn finials that decorate the top of the structure.

Finally, the staircase was restored through the consolidation of the side parapets and completed with new travertine coping, distinguishable yet harmonized with the historic materials present in the park.

QR Code n. 17-18

The Secret Garden, The Staircase and the Small Temple

The fountain and the Horizontal Sundial

The formal garden was enclosed by cherry laurel espaliers; the temple and the walls were presumably painted, and small statues were placed along a balustrade. Within the same space there were also two vine-covered berceaux, two laurel trees, and small toy carriages (now lost). The ensemble was completed by exotic plants and trees arranged to form a “grove” which, as Silva notes, “occupies a middle ground between a group, a mass, and a wood,” and “while the wood is distinguished by its size, the grove by its grace.”

Within the elongated elliptical space, aligned along the same axis—thus defining the ellipsoidal layout—stand facing one another a stone fountain, then known as the “Peschiera,” with a large oval basin at the center of which is placed a column with base and cup-shaped stone finial, and a rare horizontal sundial.

The sundial in the park of Villa Pianciani shows a close similarity to that of Villa Redenta in Spoleto, suggesting that both may have been calculated and designed by the same hand.

It is a horizontal tangent sundial, structured around a column in light calcarenite, which serves as the gnomon, set upon a base. The base consists of a first circular masonry support, faced with brick tiles and surmounted by projecting horizontal slabs—of the same stone material as the gnomon—which also serve as seating.

The upper portion of the base is organized on a first level in calcareous material, above which rises a square-plan structure composed of eleven courses of overlapping bricks, upon which stands the column with entasis. At the top, in addition to a torus and a slab, a stone pinecone has been repositioned, serving as the gnomonic apex. The shadow cast extends across the surface and, at solar noon, intersects the meridian line, originally providing the “timekeeper” with the indication needed to synchronize the clock on the façade.

Originally, the sundial featured two adjacent ellipses of different sizes (made of terracotta or natural stone), on which decorative elements typical of such instruments—such as zodiac signs—were likely engraved. Today, only traces remain, consisting of bricks set on edge flanking the original decorative layout. Between the two alignments runs the meridian line, made of small stone blocks incised longitudinally, now largely lost.

Both the sundial and the fountain have undergone restoration: the columns were consolidated and the brick bases restored, while also improving the overall seismic resistance of the complex. Particular attention was paid to details: deteriorated surfaces were carefully treated, and the two decorative pinecones, documented in historical photographs, were reconstructed in stone in keeping with the original style.

The fountain basin underwent a light, non-invasive intervention aimed at stabilizing the brick-paved bottom and the low lateral walls, in order to preserve its original formal and material configuration.

Finally, the horizontal surface of the sundial, which had subsided, was lifted and returned to its correct level, restoring its full functionality.