At that time, bramble and lentisk were swallowing up marbles and colonnades relentlessly. Nettle was growing over the pavement, couch grass between the mosaics, and the ancient topiary decoration was vanishing in the confused growth of the unpruned cypresses among the shaggy boxwood. The water beneath the duckweed was stagnant, the beehives and aviaries empty. Near the caved-in pools, the tangled...