The pines and St Peter’s

At the edge of the terrace, the great umbrella pines trace the most Roman silhouette of all, and, far off, the dome of St Peter’s closes the horizon. It is this profile — pines, domes, raking light — that generations of painters carried away from Rome. A motif painted a thousand times, and yet always new.

A great umbrella pine above the parterres, towards St Peter’s