Roman gardens are generally considered to be the origins of topiary and formal gardens. This interpretation was not challenged until Wilhelmina F. Jashemski excavated Pompeian gardens and revealed that the vegetation was dense, and that more than half of the gardens she found had informal plant patterns. My Ph.D. thesis explored the terms used to describe Roman domestic gardens, and observed that Vitruvius applied the term silva in his description of the archetypal Roman house (Vitr. 6.5). The term silva is generally defined as ‘forests’ or ‘wild nature’, but Latin authors also used the term when referring to domestic gardens. The selection of the term silva is intriguing, because gardens represented in Roman wall paintings are often lush and natural, forming an interesting visual and archaeological parallel to the use of the term. Based on this finding, my research project as Rome Awardee at the British School at Rome asked how gardens are represented in wall paintings, and how these artistic representations relate to textual evidence and excavated gardens.
The three months allowed me to scrutinise garden wall paintings in the Auditorium Maecenatis and Palazzo Massimo on several occasions. I also had the opportunity to visit the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta, the Villa of Oplontis A, Herculaneum, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Musei Capitolini and Musei Vaticani, where I collected examples of garden wall paintings, as well as inscriptions referring to horti and topiarius. Alongside that, I examined photographs of Pompeii taken before the Second World War in the Tatiana Warscher Collection available at the American Academy in Rome, which enabled me to see the state of Pompeian gardens prior to the bombings. The libraries at the American Academy, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Rom and the BSR were invaluable, as I was able to study archaeological reports and books dealing with Roman gardens.
The conclusions of my research are still preliminary, but it is likely that there were at least two types of garden wall paintings. The first type is characterized by representations of lush nature (for example the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta and Auditorium Maecenatis), and the other is characterized by elaborate trellises that were placed symmetrically (for example, giardino L at the Villa della Farnesina). As lush nature and elaborate trellises were depicted separately in some wall paintings (for example the Casa dei Cubicoli Floreali), there seem to be clear distinctions between them. These two types of garden wall paintings could be the keys to understanding silva and topiaria opera mentioned in texts, and it is my aim to develop my analysis on topiaria opera.
The opportunities to visit archaeological sites and libraries enabled me to advance my project on Roman gardens, and I am truly thankful for the support I received at the BSR. Moreover, the interactions I had with scholars and new friends enriched and broadened my perspectives, and I look forward to collaborating with them in the future.
