The Agnelli Gardens At Villar Perosaenglish Garden Eccentrics

Villar Perosa, located at the feet of the Alps just north of Turin, dates back to the early 1700s, when it was first conceived as a royal hunting lodge; within a century, it came under the ownership of the Agnelli family. Since that time, succeeding generations of Agnelli matriarchs have shaped the surrounding grounds, marking them with their own distinctive personality. Most notable has been Marella Agnelli, who, since her marriage in 1953 to Giovanni Agnelli, has dedicated herself to transforming the gardens. Her decision in 1955 to commission famed English landscape and garden designer Russell Page in this enterprise has resulted in the showcase gardens that today comprise Villar Perosa. The Agnelli Gardens at Villar Perosa is an in-depth look at this stupendous villa and surrounding gardens.

A highly original examination of a series of unique gardens made by English eccentrics from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries In his new book, Todd Longstaffe-Gowan looks at a series of unique gardens made by English eccentrics in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Their unusual creators--from the superstitious antiquary William Stukeley (d.1765), to the pleasure-ground proprietor Jonathan Tyers (d.1767), and the bird-loving Lady Reade (d.1811)--built miniature mountains, shaped topiary, collected animals, excavated caves, and assembled architectural fragments to realize their gardens in a way that was, and sometimes still is, thought to be excessive. Bringing together garden and landscape history with cultural history and biography, English Garden Eccentrics examines what it is about the gardener and his or her creation that can be seen as eccentric and analyzes an area of garden history that has scarcely been previously explored: gardens seen as expressions of the singular character of their makers, and therefore functioning, in effect, as a form of autobiography. This lively and accessible book calls on gardeners today to learn from example and dare to be eccentric.

A sweeping survey of the work of celebrated bon vivant Federico Forquet--whose decades-long design career has embraced couture fashion, elegant interiors, and imaginative gardens, reflecting both the best of Italian style and the dolce vita era of Rome. Through his long and crowded life, polyglot designer Federico Forquet has been by turns a couturier who learned his craft at Balenciaga's side and whose creations for his eponymous house clothed the best-dressed women of the day; a decorator of interiors of singular style and charm; a discriminating collector of rare and beautiful objects, furnishings, and pictures; and a creator of magical gardens. For the first time, the many worlds of this creative visionary are brought together in a richly illustrated celebration of style: from imagery of his lavish haute-couture gowns featured in 1960s and '70s Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and other fashionable publications and worn by trendsetters such as Marella Agnelli, Sophia Loren, and Diana Vreeland to picturesque scenes of verdant Tuscan gardens and opulent, old-world Roman villas and palazzos decorated by Forquet. Accompanied by insightful texts from the design world's authoritative voices, this inspiring and utterly enchanting tome will appeal to readers fascinated by fashion, social history, gardens, interior design, and Italian style.

A fresh look at the interiors of Renzo Mongiardino—considered one of the finest designers of the late twentieth century—that will both appeal to past devotees and introduce his work to a new generation of design enthusiasts. This book explores the sublime work of Renzo Mongiardino (1916–1998), reinforcing his place as a legend in the field. Mongiardino has a background as an acclaimed set designer for stage and film, which had an effect on his work—lush interiors with trompe l’oeil finishes, museum-quality antiques, sumptuous fabrics, and a bewitching theatricality. Clients included elite members of the worlds of fashion, art, and society: Agnelli, Rothschild, Peretti, Radziwill, and Onassis. Cabana, the au courant interiors magazine, investigates Mongiardino’s work with stunning new photography (many interiors are published here for the first time), thoughtful prose, and animated layouts. This is the most contemporary book on the creations of the modern master and will appeal to connoisseurs of beauty and interior design.

What shape can radical politics take today in a time abandoned by the great revolutionary projects of the past? In light of recent uprisings around the world against the neoliberal capitalist order, Saul Newman argues that anarchism - or as he calls it postanarchism - forms our contemporary political horizon. In this book, Newman develops an original political theory of postanarchism; a form of anti-authoritarian politics which starts, rather than finishes, with anarchy. He does this by asking four central questions: who are we as subjects; how do we resist; what is our relationship to violence; and, why do we obey? By drawing on a range of heterodox thinkers including La Boétie, Sorel, Benjamin, Stirner and Foucault, the author not only investigates the current conditions for radical political thought and action, but proposes a new form of politics based on what he calls ontological anarchy and the desire for autonomous life. Rather than seeking revolutionary emancipation or political hegemony, we should affirm instead the non-existence of power and the ever-present possibilities of freedom. As the tectonic plates of our time are shifting, revealing the nihilism and emptiness of our political and economic order, postanarchism's disdain for power in all its forms offers us genuine emancipatory potential.