There are several aspects of the garden that remain vivid
souvenirs of my visit over several hours with two friends,
a very rare, unchaperoned occurrence. It occurred as
much by divine Providence as by the need to flee iniquity,
but that is another story.
The path up, over, through and around the great Vatican
hill garden is a nonstop visual gallery of art, one which
often requires a close eye, so much is overgrown, often
intentionally. Nothing describes this holiest of gardens
better than the word "romantic", albeit, in a spiritual
sense, the romantic unity of nature and God, in a built,
planned garden setting. Quite the opposite of what one
experiences at the Grand Canyon or in the Himalayas,
quite different from the sublime, sometimes terrifying
HYLAND
