A Garden for Animals: Varro's Aviary

While we don't generally consider zoos to be a garden, they were originally known as 'zoological gardens', and their form has evolved greatly in the last two hundred years. Animals in enclosures were long a part of Roman society, specifically as pens for the storage of beasts used in fights, later in the Colosseum but earlier in common amphitheatres and public shows. In the early first century BCE, collections of birds for pleasure and amusement are documented, starting with Laenius Strabo, a wealthy member of the military and resident of the provinces, who had a small aviary. Varro writes of Strabo's collection, and he himself had a aviary at his Casinum villa.

Fantastical and conceptual drawing of Varro's aviary.

Netted coverings are shown in the enclosures. 

Varro built an enclosure with high walls and a netted roof made of rope, as well as nets over the doors. It held a variety of songbirds, his favourite being the blackbird. What makes this especially identifiable as a garden was the presence of trees and shrubs, native to the original homes of the imported birds, planted in formations around a number of water features. Besides the usual fish ponds and fountains, Varro also included a duck pond, which was adjacent to a small covered rotunda where he often hosted guests and used as a place to dine.

The food served in the aviary was specifically related to the setting; Varro would serve fish from the pond and fowl from the enclosure so that guests could dine on what they were watching. He did not keep this practice up for long, as his guests found it difficult to consume food while surrounded with the smell of birds. Apparently the general smell of the animals caused the food to be unpalatable. Nonetheless, he continued to use it as a pleasure garden and to entertain guests. It serves as another example of a different form of garden.

Works Cited:
Hooper, William Davis, Harrison Boyd Ash, Georg Goetz, Marcus Porcius Cato, and Marcus Terentius. Varro. On Agriculture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1934, III, 5.

Jennison, George. Animals for Show and Pleasure in Ancient Rome. Manchester, UK: University of Manchester Press, 1937.

Image Source:
Jennison, George. Animals for Show and Pleasure in Ancient Rome. Manchester, UK: University of Manchester Press, 1937, page 125.