Italy's Private Gardens: An Inside View
This is a really beautifully presented and sumptuous coffee table book that would appeal to anyone who is interested in Italy, its people, their gardens and the relationship between the three. Italia Ramsay's well-composed perfectly exposed shots are a breath of fresh air. Amateur Photographer For garden visitors and armchair travellers. Irish Times Helena Attlee spent months having a proper old nosey to produce 'Italy's Private Gardens' Spectacular views, pools, fountains and cascades, olive groves and terracotta urns, but also new commissionssuch as Dan Pearson's La Torrecchia. And in an unusual treat for the pathhetically curious, photos of all the owners too. The perfect sofa book. Independent The garden historian Helena Attlee, in tandem with her photographer husband, Alex Ramsay, is fast becoming a specialist on European gardens. She has books on Italian and Portuguese gardens and has now published a more subtle selection ... Attlee has known Italy all her adult life and her fluent Italian has allowed her to interview the owners for their personal stories, so many of which began with historic gardens devastated by the Second World War Times You don't need to be a gardener to drool over Italy's Private Gardens, a book that delightfully incorporates not just the sumptuous gardens themselves but also the gardeners who are just as characterful. Evening Standard It is not a book for curious or thoughtful gardeners, but is one of those picture books where the reader longs to leap into every page. Perfect lemons grow in enviable terracotta pots. Wistaria flowers as it never does here, stone pools of water and statues adorn bosky evergreenery and what with the odd Contessa, gnarled old and handsome young gardeners, as well as several dogs all bathed in beautiful Italian light, only an utter killjoy could resist leafing through the pleasures on offer. Spectator A truly stunning book by Helena Atlee, featuring Italy's most beautiful private gardens and the stories behind them. Italia Well-written and exactly the sort of book to curl up with on a winter's day when you can only dream of wisteria and roses. Wonderful pictures by Alex Ramsay, help greatly. Oxford Times This is a book 'built around conversations' and Helena Attlee quotes liberally from the owners, writing in a personal, anecdotal, occasionally chatty way. It makes reading it an intimate experience, like spending the afternoon wandering these gardens in the company of unfailingly charming upper-class Italians. BBC Gardens Illustrated Few English writers understand Italian gardens better than Helena Atlee... A rare thing: she is thoroughly academic yet delightfully accessible, rendering this and her previous books indispensible to student and visitor alike. House & Garden This gorgeously illustrated book invites us into the secret world of lush greenery that lies behind the walls of some of Italy's most impressive homes. Bellisima! Homes & Interiors Scotland A fascinating book. And I can't wait to get to San Guiliano. -- Anna Pavord World of Interiors Italian Gardens have been best served this year... Helena Attlee is an even more experienced garden traveller and garden historian and has given us a sample of 'Italy's Private Gardens'. -- Robin Lane Fox Financial Times