Temple of Venus

May 2nd, 2023

Beautiful place
Apr 21st, 2020

Aug 11th, 2019

dated 1731 this was the first building in the gardens designed by William Kent. Located in the south-west corner of the gardens on the far side of the eleven-acre lake. The stone building takes the form of one of Palladio's villas, the central rectangular room linked by two quadrant arcades to pavilions. The main pedimented facade has an exedra screened by two full and two half Roman Ionic columns, there are two niches containing busts either side of the door of Cleopatra & Faustina, the exedra is flanked by two niches containing busts of Nero and Vespasian all people known for their sexual appetites. The end pavilions have domes. Above the door is carved VENERI HORTENSI "to Venus of the garden". The interior according to the 1756 Seeley Guidebook was decorated with murals painted by Francesco Sleter the centre of the ceiling had a painting of a naked Venus and the smaller Compartments were painted with a variety of intrigues. The walls had paintings with scenes from Spenser's The Faerie Queene. The paintings were destroyed in the late 18th century. Reverend John Wesley, who visited in 1779, said the paintings were "lewd". The ceiling frieze had this inscription by Catullus: Nunc amet qui nondum amavit: Quique amavit, nunc amet. (Let him love now, who never lov'd before: Let him, who always lov'd, now love the more.)
Jan 20th, 2018

Jul 12th, 2016