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The Kepos Project – Meetings on Archaeology and Landscape is an annual series of conferences promoted by the William Walton Foundation and La Mortella and curated by Dr Mariangela Catuogno. The 2026 edition was dedicated to the centenary of Lady Walton’s birth, celebrating her life and her fundamental role in the creation of the La Mortella Gardens.
The final meeting of the season, scheduled for Thursday, 22 October at 7:00 p.m., brings this series of in-depth explorations to a close with a focus on the history of gardens, examining the relationship between the patrons who commission them and the artists who give shape to their vision.
The featured speaker will be Giulia Caneva, Full Professor of Environmental and Applied Botany at Roma Tre University, who will deliver a lecture entitled Wonder, Power and Love: Raphael and the Meaning of Nature in Renaissance Europe.
At the heart of the lecture will be the celebrated Loggia of Cupid and Psyche at Villa Farnesina in Rome, frescoed by Raphael and Giovanni da Udine for the exceptionally wealthy banker and patron of the arts Agostino Chigi. Conceived as a magnificent painted pergola, the Loggia is an extraordinary celebration of nature, but also an expression of its patron’s prestige, artistic taste and aspirations. At the same time, through the myth of Cupid and Psyche, it evokes the theme of love in both its marital and erotic dimensions. Garlands of fruit, flowers and leaves framing the vaults create an ideal connection between the outdoor garden and the interior rooms of the palace, offering a depiction of nature of exceptional richness and variety.
The Loggia is, in fact, a veritable botanical catalogue of the Renaissance, featuring a surprising number of plant species from different regions of the world known at the time. Particularly noteworthy is the presence of plants native to the Americas, depicted just a few decades after Columbus’s voyages: one of the earliest artistic testimonies to their introduction into Europe.
Through an analysis of this extraordinary work, Giulia Caneva will guide the audience in discovering the symbolic, artistic and scientific meanings of nature during the Renaissance, demonstrating how art and botany can work together to deepen our understanding of the history and culture of an era.
The event will take place in the Museum Hall of the La Mortella Gardens. Following opening remarks by the Foundation’s President, Alessandra Vinciguerra, Professor Giulia Caneva will deliver her lecture. The meeting will be moderated by Dr Mariangela Catuogno, Scientific Director of the Kepos Project.
