'Shell' we take a seat?

July 17 2009, 3:58pm

From the 16th century onward, grottoes were constructed as fanciful retreats from reality. They appeared throughout Europe, from the Buontalenti Grotto at Palazzo Pitti in Florence, to the Grotto of Thetis at Versailles (torn down in 1684), to the Kuskovo Grotto near Moscow. These fantasy structures were “adorned with interesting rock formations, fountains, seashells, and often, matching furniture.”1