The River Fountain
for a different function. I was fascinated to learn that
the two apartments at first floor level, symmetrical in
plan and each possessing a series of five rooms, from
state rooms to bedroom, wardrobe and studiolo, were
designed, respectively, with seasonal attitudes and
activities in mind. The East Apartment is for summer, a
time of active life; the West Apartment is for winter, a time
for the contemplative life. The apartments are exactly
symmetrical to one another, with matching parterre
gardens, each reached by a bridge across the moat.
I wondered about the symbolism of this symmetry,
Vignola's insistence on the number five, which in its
repetition throughout the original plan and ensuing
arrangement of rooms becomes invested with an almost
mystical power or presence (I recall that the Washington
HYLAND
