Owners/Lakers: progettazione, rappresentazione e fruizione, dal giardino di lago al Lake District e ai laghi italiani

The essay provides a comparison between natural lakes and artificial lakes. The focus is on their representation, on landscaping projects, on their decoration and on the response elicited in those who are at first defined as 'owners', then as 'lakers'. When the culture of picturesque excursion spreads from England to Scotland and Europe, it is possible to detect some common lines of perception of the lake which also inform 19c descriptions of the Italian lakes Como and Maggiore.