Where the land is art

Nick Dakin-Elliot, who gardens in Tuscany, is still moved by the Italian hilltop gardens that command some of the most beautiful views in the world

- Nick Dakin-Elliot

I N England, a substantial country house might be sited in a sheltered combe. In Tuscany, by contrast, an exposed, hilltop site is the location of choice. In the past, defensive considerations were important, but more abundant winter light and cooling summer breezes have ever been sought. Above all, such elevated positions enable the garden to bring in the wider landscape to dramatic effect.

Villa La Pietra (COUNTRY LIFE, July 19, 2007), widely regarded as one of Italy's most famous gardens and only a stone's throw from the centre of Florence, would not be the same without the borrowed Tuscan landscape that forms the backdrop to its formal garden.

A series of individually themed garden rooms, terraces and staircases is linked by vistas that terminate in views of statues and fountains, the sight of rolling Tuscan hills punctuated with Italian cypress trees and tailored views of Florence's world-famous Duomo. Even the garden's Teatro di Verdura, the open-air theatre, has columns in its foyer framing a piece of Tuscany's rural idyll.

The most impressive borrowed landscape in Tuscany must, however, be the one that is the making of Villa La Foce. The house, garden and surrounding landscape are largely the result of three very talented people: the Marchese Antonio Origo, his wife, Dame Iris Origo, and her friend the English architect Cecil Pinsent, who worked together on its design from 1927-39. Dame Iris's book War in Val d'Orcia gives an enthralling and personal account of the impact of the Second World War on the estate and an idea of the character of the woman who strove to create the garden oasis that became its beating heart.