Pacello da Mercogliano
Encyclopedia
Pacello da Mercogliano was a designer of gardens and hydraulic engineer, who is documented under Charles VIII
at Amboise
with the responsibility of bringing water from the Loire
up to the garden parterre
s laid out to one side of the château. He was assisting the architect-engineer Fra Giocondo, who had translated Frontinus' essay on the ancient aqueducts of Rome
, De aquis urbae Romanae. After Charles VIII's death in 1498, both men continued to be employed by Louis XII
at Blois
, whence he had removed the court.
At the Château de Gaillon
, begun in 1502, Georges Cardinal d'Amboise
employed Pacello on the gardens. Neither there, nor at Amboise or Blois, where the foundations of the castles crowned steep defensible sites, was Pacello able to tie the axes of his garden parterre
s to a facade of the château in any meaningful way, as was becoming the usual practice on sloping sites below Italian villa
s.
In the plans of all three châteaux that were drawn after c. 1566 and appeared in Jacques Androuet du Cerceau
's Les plus excellents bastimens de France, it is difficult to judge what of Pacello's patterned plantings may still be recognized. Nevertheless, he may be considered one of the founding spirits of the French formal garden.
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
at Amboise
Château d'Amboise
The royal Château at Amboise is a château located in Amboise, in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France.-Origins and royal residence:...
with the responsibility of bringing water from the Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
up to the garden parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
s laid out to one side of the château. He was assisting the architect-engineer Fra Giocondo, who had translated Frontinus' essay on the ancient aqueducts of Rome
Aqueducts of Rome
This is a list of aqueducts in Rome listed in chronological order of their construction.- Ancient Rome :* Aqua Appia** built in 312 BC** source: springs to the east of Rome...
, De aquis urbae Romanae. After Charles VIII's death in 1498, both men continued to be employed by Louis XII
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
at Blois
Château de Blois
The Royal Château de Blois is located in the Loir-et-Cher département in the Loire Valley, in France, in the center of the city of Blois. The residence of several French kings, it is also the place where Joan of Arc went in 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her...
, whence he had removed the court.
At the Château de Gaillon
Château de Gaillon
The Château de Gaillon is a renaissance castle located in Gaillon, Haute-Normandie region of France.-History:The somewhat battered and denuded Château de Gaillon, begun in 1502 on ancient foundationswas the summer archiepiscopal residence of Georges d'Amboise, Cardinal Archbishop of Rouen; he ...
, begun in 1502, Georges Cardinal d'Amboise
Georges d'Amboise
Georges d'Amboise was a French Roman Catholic cardinal and minister of state. He belonged to the house of Amboise, a noble family possessed of considerable influence: of his nine brothers, four were bishops. His father, Pierre d'Amboise, seigneur de Chaumont, was chamberlain to Charles VII and...
employed Pacello on the gardens. Neither there, nor at Amboise or Blois, where the foundations of the castles crowned steep defensible sites, was Pacello able to tie the axes of his garden parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
s to a facade of the château in any meaningful way, as was becoming the usual practice on sloping sites below Italian villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
s.
In the plans of all three châteaux that were drawn after c. 1566 and appeared in Jacques Androuet du Cerceau
Androuet du Cerceau
Androuet du Cerceau was a family of French architects and designers active in the 16th and early 17th century.*Jacques I Androuet du Cerceau *Jean Baptiste Androuet du Cerceau...
's Les plus excellents bastimens de France, it is difficult to judge what of Pacello's patterned plantings may still be recognized. Nevertheless, he may be considered one of the founding spirits of the French formal garden.