Botany and Academy: the Gardens of Cardinal del Monte in Early Seventeenth-Century Rome

What is it about?

Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte (1549–1626) was known for his wide-ranging interests and helped create a new way of thinking based on studying nature and art. His home at Palazzo Madama in Rome was like an academy, and so was the garden at his final residence by the Tiber River. Del Monte was especially interested in medicine and botany, and he surrounded himself with important figures like Fabio Colonna (1567–1640), a member of the Academia dei Lincei, and Tobia Aldini, who managed the famous Farnese Gardens. This chapter looks at Del Monte’s three private gardens in Rome, showing how these spaces played a key role in connecting gardens with academic research.

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