Aloha to Miami - Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (part 2)

Continuing my tour of the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (link),

Vizcaya’s European-inspired gardens are among the most elaborate in the United States. Reminiscent of gardens created in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Italy and France, the overall landscape design is conceived as a series of rooms.

Vizcaya’s exuberant gardens are characterized by an abundance of architectural structures and details, elaborate fountains, and antique and commissioned sculptures. The use of sculptures that were already old and of soft and porous coral stone resulted, quite intentionally, in the gardens having a weathered appearance soon after their completion. 

 I felt as though I stepped back in time to Europe ...

... where everything is grand!

The "back" of the house is actually the front, offering a view of Biscayne Bay. 

Deering enjoyed the view from his private balcony ... 

... of his barge! From the Vizcaya website (link),

To enter by watercraft, one passed the majestic Barge, a massive, 158-foot-long aquatic sculpture that functions as a breakwater, calming the waters immediately offshore. The Barge was likely inspired by English follies of the eighteenth century, romantic and generally nonfunctional structures. Carved from a mix of local stone, the Barge has become an iconic image of Vizcaya.

Chalfin conceived the Barge as a “confused mass,” as he described in a 1915 letter. The eclectic abundance was in keeping with the typical Vizcayan approach of evoking symbolism from disparate elements. He wanted “baskets of sea fruits and trophies of sea treasures,” along with mermaids and tritons and Egyptian obelisks, with an overlay of sixteenth-century Venetian style.

Since 1917 the Barge has been a fixture in Biscayne Bay, adorned with obelisks and caryatids, with a gazebo (lost in the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926) and a bevy of trees; it was a refuge away from the Main House, a short boat ride to a mini-paradise.

Venetian architecture surrounds the barge ...

 ... including the canal bridges.

 Ah!  The fashion shoot moved to the Barge! 

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash to one randomly selected commenter from this week's blog posts. To enter the giveaway,

1. What would you wear to a fashion shoot?  I'd wear an Aloha shirt.

2. Comments are open through Saturday, June 4, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, June 5.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Image by Ebyabe

Creative Commons (link)