The Italian Renaissance Gardens

In Greek mythology, Triton was the son of Poseidon (Roman name, Neptune), the god of the sea. Triton was half dolphin and half man. He created winds at Poseidon's bidding by coming tothe surface of the sea and blowing through a conch shell.

The representations here are probably based upon a painting by Annibale Carrafi, an early Baroque artist who resided in Bologna, Italy. It is believed that they illustratea story told in Virgil's Aeneid in which Triton was challenged to a contest by Misenus, the Trojan trumpeter for Aeneas. Triton promptly tossed Misenus into the sea for his arrogance.

The statues were carved from Carrara marble by an unknown Italian artist.The quarry in Italy that produces this marble has been used since Roman times. Carrara was also the source of much of the marble used by Michelangelo to produce many of his famous works, including the David in Florence and the Pieta in Rome. Local residents often refer to the Tritons as "Spit and Spat."

The rear garden is arranged on a Palladian Circle, believed to be based upon the gardens of a former Papal palace in Rome, Italy. With the sundial marking the center of the circle, four sculptures known as herms are arranged on the perimeter. Two of the four sculptures are of a satyr, probably Pan, the Greek god of the forest.

In ancient Greece, herms were originally used as boundary markers and featured the Greek god Hermes, giving rise to the term. Although this type of sculpture was later adapted for uses other than boundary markers, losing the connection with Hermes, the word "herms" was still used to describe this type of artwork.

The other two sculptures depict maenads, female followers of Dionysus (Roman name, Bachuus), the god of revelry and wine. Maenads reveled with Dionysus and were constantly being chased by Pan and his satyrs, who could never catch them. This story from Greek mythology seems to form the basis of the garden plan. The sundial in the center is original, the herms are replicas.