These words from the libretto of the opera Bellerofonte conjure up a vision of a longlost scene from the Venetian stage. The landscape is both delightful and horrendous, it shows great art in its design and takes the eye across a landscape. This theatrical, or scenographic landscape, is just one of many that were staged for audiences in the seventeenth century. Written descriptions tell us of the ‘meraviglia’ or wonders that captured the eye and the feelings of delight and horror they elicited in the audience. They speak of the illusion of naturalness of the scenes and amazement at the mimicry of the natural effects of clouds, lightning and thunder brought inside. The seventeenth century was a time when the relationship between humans and nature shifted. In art this new fascination with nature saw the rise of the genre of landscape painting. In gardens architects introduced monumental structures designed to overwhelm spectators, which were contrasted with smaller, intimate spaces designed for retreat. At the same time engineers revived ancient techniques and built upon them to realize new ways to control and reshape the landscape and put these techniques to work in gardens.