Yolanda Zappaterra is a London-based author, editor and researcher who has worked on more than thirty art, design and travel titles. She writes about architecture, art and travel, and contributes regularly to leisure and lifestyle magazines and specialist art and design magazines. ... Read more Read less
This rich, beautiful book takes readers from the mountains of Kashmir to a
repurposed castle in the west of Ireland, as it tours the most magnificent
sacred gardens in the world.
Elements from religious gardens – from labyrinths and grottos to monastic herb
gardens and geometrical patterns – have long been familiar in garden design, as has
the tradition of seeking spiritual enlightenment through nature. But this book takes the
reader straight to the source, showcasing the best gardens designed and informed
directly by religious and spiritual teachings.
These include functional gardens created by monks for sanctuary, medicine and food;
the sacred bathing pools of Tirta Gangga in Bali; and the kare-sansui garden at
Ryōan-ji, informed by Zen Buddhism. Many are ancient sites full of myth, others have
been lovingly restored from ruin, and some have been newly created in recent
years in a bid to get closer to the Divine, through traditional religion or the worship
of nature itself.
Earthly Utopias visits cathedrals, monasteries and ruined abbeys; temples,
mausoleums and shrines; forests, islands and deserts in search of these sacred
gardens. And each one serves as a prime example of how religion, philosophy and
spirituality can inform and inspire beautiful garden design.
... Read more Read less
