THE GARDENS OF THE VATICAN
Author: Linda Kooluris Dobbs and Kildare Dobbs
Price: 39.95
ISBN:978-1-55278-766-3
Pages: 160 (150 colour photographs)

Visitors to the Vatican Galleries, when they turn away from the works of art, may look out of the long windows and catch glipses of lawns and trees, or intricate parterres with boxwood hedges. or climbing to the dome of St. Peter’s, daunted as they may be by the vertical stairs with walls narrowing as they ascend, they may enjoy marvellous aerial views. And often they wish they coud walk in those pleasant paths shadowed by ancient trees.

Twenty seven years in the making, The Gardens of the Vatican is a private photographic tour of eight centuries of ‘green thoughts in a green shade’. The several gardens in the Vatican territory reflect thehistory of gardens in general. In addition to the Persianinnfluenced quadrant gardens of the Tenton Cemetary and the Secret Garden, adorned with lemon trees in pots, there are gardens in the Italian, French,and English styles.

The book is rich in anecdote and detail: Pope John XXIII liked to ramble along the pathways and chat with the gardeners. His predecessor Pius XII wanted solitude, so the gardeners were obliged to hide. There is a fragment of the Berlin Wall, a Chinese pavilion given by the Catholics of that country, and a gnarled old olive tree transplanted from the Gethsemane in the Holy Land.

The Gardens of the Vatican offers a fascinating and inspiring glimpse of a bachelor’s refuge, through eight centuries of history.

"A work of staggering vision and dedication, 27 years in the making, which gives a rare, fascinating and inspiring glimpse of the Vatican's grand gardens. The anecdotal style of writing reflects on the eight centuries of history behind the designs." - TheBookSeller.com

"'The Gardens of the Vatican' offers a captivating pictorial insight into the deeper purpose of these gardens, designed and cultivated to illustrate papal grandeur as a form of praise to the Creator. The beautiful photography of Linda Kooluris Dobbs (who began her photographic record of the Vatican Gardens in 1981) perfectly captures the solitude, simple beauty and spirituality of the gardens." - The Reckless Gardener