Scaletta d'Acqua (Water Staircase)

The garden's water staircase is inspired by one at the Renaissance-era Villa Cicogna Mozzoni near Varese, Italy. Because of its famous water staircase, that villa became one of the most beloved stops on the grand tours of Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

For the Smiths' original scaletta, water was pumped directly from Lake Michigan. As part of the Renaissance Garden renewal project (2002), a recirculating system was installed utilizing city water. Approximately 200 gallons per minute course down the water staircase. The pool in the Grotto Terrace is refreshed from a 500-gallon tank buried in the hillside.

Photography by Kevin Miyazaki.