The Cardinal Raffaele Riario, in the 16th century, began the garden by placing a wall around the entire site in Bagnaia. Inside this wall, there was a garden and a private hunting park, that would later, become a public park. It woud be until 100 years later that Cardinal Giovanni Francesco Gambara commissioned Jacopo Barozzi (Vignola) to work on the villa. His plan was to create a garden that was divided into three terraces forming long rectangles.
The most important part of the design is the principle of the strong central axis. This begins at the fountain of the Moors and runs to the top of the third terrace, ending at the Fountain of the Flood. The design also focuses on bilateral symmetry. The Palladian circle and square, as well as the use of flowing water from the fountain of the flood through the entire garden, work to enhance the axis. Many of the sections of the design were inspired from other gardens and villas. The water flowing from the central axis was inspired from the Villa d’Este, which sits right at the edge of the town of Bagnaia. The Fountains located inside the villa tell a tale of the transcendence from the Golden Age.
The Pegasus Fountain was inspired from the statue located above the Oval Fountain in the Villa D’Este. The story is that this winged horse strikes a rock with his hoof thus sparking the Spring of Hippocrene. This becomes the symbol of artistic creativity. The Pegasus Fountain is the first fountain a guest will come to in the park, right at the entrance. The Fountain of the Flood sits on the upper terrace. This grotto fountain begins the compositional theme of the pathway of water that feeds all the fountains in the garden through gravity. This fountain is in the line of vision from the main gate. This fountain was inspired from the Biblical story of the Flood from the Old Testament, beginning the story of humanities evolution.
The Fountain of the Dolphins is located below the Fountain of the Flood. This fountain is an octagonal fountain that features four descending basins linked to the sculptures. The fountain features sixteen dolphins, arranged in pairs, on each corner of the octagon. Boxwoods surround the fountain, and there are also benches around the fountain as well. The Fountain of the Chain uses water that flows from the Fountain of the Dolphins. The water falls into the jaws of the crayfish, the symbol of the Cardinal Gambara. The beginning of the fountain is the head and the middle is the front claws, the body continues down the middle of the stairs, and ends with the water flowing out of the crayfishes back claws, which actually begins the Fountain of the Giants.
The final fountain in the Villa Lante is the Fountain of the Giants. This fountain features tiers of flowing water than fall into a large semi-circular pool. On either side are two statues that represent the Tiber and Arno Rivers. This is symbolic of the fertility that water will add to the land.
