The Gardens of Spain [antikvár]

Introductioni 4 MOccui'YiNG THt GREAii'R part of the Iberian peninsula, Spain projects itself between two seas that have been of great importance to the history of humanity: the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, in both of which its territory is complemented by islandsthe Canaries in the former, the Balearics in the latter. To the ancient Greeks, who explored the Mediterranean and settled its shores, Spain, which they called Hesperia, was at the end of the world. There, they envisioned a wondrous garden, in which a tree bore the golden apples that Hera received as a gift from the Mother Goddess Gala upon her marriage to Zeus. They called it the Garden of Hesperides, a word meaning "the nymphs of the evening," after the maidens who guarded this mythic place, which some scholars locate in Spain. Let us begin by invoking, as an emblem of Spain's intense allegiance to ancient tradition, the name of this legendary iirst garden.Now let us cross the millennia to the sixteenth century, when Atlantic Spain was, in a sense, the beginning of the world; opening up the New World to Europe and colonizing large regions of the Americas. King Philip II (1556-98), the ruler of the largest empire the world had ever seen, who took a passionate interest in horticulture, created in Aranjuez a garden, today in a lamentable state of decay, that was to be "the model of world gardens."Between the heritage of tiie Old World and the unexpected discoveries of the New, we will find the keys to unlock the gardens of Spain.Like all high plateaus in temperate regions, the nteseta endures severe winters and fiery summers. To delight the eyes and gladden the spirit, nature compensates with a veritable explosion of flowers in the springtime, which lasts at most a month. Along the embankments of roads and even highways wild charlock, poppies, and mallows struggle to grow and then proudly flourish. Who could better arrange a mixed border?opposn-EThe Romans bequeathed to Spain the patio, an open space in the center of the house, often enclosed by galleries. The neat, sober marble patios of the old city of Seville make a strong contrast with the more open, cheerful patios of Córdoba: here, one is in the realm of aspidistras, chessboard patterns on the floor, and burnished copper pots, while life seems banished to the shadows.