Gardens of the Roman World

Roman gardens are an essential part of Western garden history.

Using a wide range of literary and archaeological sources, Patrick Bowe describes the design, uses and features of gardens across the Roman Empire, from Africa and the Middle East to Britain.

He examines descriptions by Roman authors such as Cicero and Pliny of their own gardens, excavations of imperial palaces, city courtyard gardens and provincial rural estates, as well as contemporary depictions of gardens in wall paintings at Pompeii.

The book goes on to explore the influence of these gardens through the centuries: on Italian Renaissance gardens, 19th-century neoclassical gardens and modern examples, such as the famous gardens at the Getty Villa in Malibu.