Gardens of awe & splendour

摘要

In the 21st century the garden has become associated with privacy, security and an idealised escape from the outside world, but in the 17th and 18th centuries the Baroque garden was the very antithesis of this; it was a place of spectacle, a stage forconspicuous display and a political manifestation of power, wealth and authority. This view of gardens is so alien to modern life that it can be hard to 'read' gardens from that period. The name 'baroque' (from the Portuguese word 'barroco' for a misshapen pearl) was initially an insult for a flamboyant, irregular style that broke Classical rules.