San Liberato

“I know no other garden more magical than this, so strong is the atmosphere of tranquillity, the just relationship of trees and woods to lake and mountain and sky – the simple planes of the gardens, the sloping woods and fields where even the details of more gardened sections have come together in silent harmony.” (Page, “Bracciano”)

This is how Russell Page described San Liberato, in an unpublished text written in July 1979, fifteen years after he was asked to help design the garden by the owners Count Donato Sanminiatelli and his wife Maria Odescalchi. The Countess had inherited the 17-acre estate from her father, Prince Odescalchi, in 1960. Both she and her husband fell in love with the place and decided to build their country home there, enlisting architect Enrico Gentiloni Silveri to design a typically Roman villa for them. The house was built on the hillside close to the charming church of San Liberato, parts of which date back to the ninth century. From its elevated position, the house enjoyed spectacular views of the imposing Lake Bracciano and the Rocca Romana beyond.

Although Page had worked extensively in the north of Italy since the 1950s, it was only in the 1960s that he embarked on projects in Rome and the neighbouring countryside. San Liberato was amongst the first of these (the earliest of the designs dates to 1964). The drawings in the Russell Page archive collection include formal plans of the whole site and of individual areas, such as the new garden constructed next to the church, the swimming pool and pool house, and an outdoor playhouse. There is also a selection of more informal drawings from a sketchbook. Unpublished texts provide further insights into how the project evolved.

When Page arrived in 1964, the Count and Countess had already started some landscaping, as Page explained in an interview he gave in the late 1970s:

“When I arrived on the scene, quite a few conifers and other trees had been planted on the hillside above and behind the house and some more on the meadow which is on the slight slope towards the lake, which has nut woods on the East. And a square lawn had been set in front of the house and below its retaining wall some long, narrow rose beds, parallel to the house. […] The first thing I did was to take this sloping bank and cross-terrace it with very low walls and a series of 18 inch wide paths, so that the three or four terraces are broken up into small beds. My idea about this was to simply make a garden in which, for instance, herbs could be grown and given the impression of a medieval garden which might correspond with the church.” (“Interview with Russell Page”)

What Page does not mention are the series of retaining walls which he incorporated into the design so as to counter the natural slope of the land. At least two alternative layouts for this area were drawn up: RP/1/10/12/2 and RP/1/10/12/3. Looking at the arrangement of the flowerbeds in the photograph of the area before planting (RP/4/3/5), it would appear that RP/1/10/12/3 was the design chosen. Count Donato had a keen interest in gardening and this new garden proved to be the perfect spot to experiment with growing plants such as magnolias, hebes and daphnes. The Count and Countess also admired old-fashioned roses, and many more were added to the existing rose garden below the lawn, where Page widened the beds. Page made sure, however, that the height of the planting remained below the level of the lawn so that a visitor to the garden would discover the roses rather them see them from the house (this had the added benefit of maintaining an uninterrupted view out to the lake). At Countess Sanminiatlli’s request, a raised stone water feature was added to the centre of the rose garden (RP/1/10/12/10 (2 of 21) and RP/1/10/12/10 (4 of 21) both relate to this new fountain).

Through clever planting, Page managed to disguise many of the man-made elements of the garden. The playhouse for the children, added in 1968, was largely hidden by a double line of pleached lilacs, while the rectangular swimming pool was surrounded by laurel hedging. Even the architecture of the pool house was softened by the introduction of plants: the roof was covered in bright blue morning glory, and an abundance of fuschias in pots filled the interior.

The Count and Page continued to work together to introduce a huge variety of species at San Liberato, including Umbrella pines, American red oaks, black walnut trees, cedars, Canadian maples, Japanese cherry trees, hydrangeas, camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas and foxgloves. The gardens remain famous to this day. It was evidently a project, and a working relationship, which Page found satisfying:

“If I consider this garden especially good it is because we, its owners, and myself, were always alert to the nature of the place; in placing every plant. We set out paths or lawns or beds to frame or underline or try to accentuate or concentrate around the invisible presence embodied in the physical characteristics of the place.” (Page, “Bracciano”)