A lecture by Michal Bitton, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Event organized in collaboration with the NB Haifa School of Design
"In the shade of gardens, in Italy and abroad"
"In the shade of gardens, in Italy and abroad"THE GARDEN AS SACRED NATURE AND THE GARDEN AS A CHURCH: TRANSITIONS OF DESIGN AND FUNCTION IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANEA lecture by Michal Bitton, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Event organized in collaboration with the NB Haifa School of Design – WIZO School of DesignThe lecture explores the modifications in the garden's development through the changing conceptions and objectives of its designers – the Franciscans – between 1800 and 1959. Throughout that period the garden went through five revision phases, and was gradually transformed from a wild olive grove into a neatly designed garden. The main aspiration of its designers was to establish their dominance over the area of Gethsemane, by constructing a church on the site. To that end, until the beginning of the twentieth century, development was aimed at introducing order and architectural qualities into the garden and transforming it into a temporal alternative for a church. It was not until the beginning of the British Mandate that the Franciscans finally fulfilled their dream and erected a church on the site. At this time the garden began to revert to its natural state.Another objective of the Franciscans was to halt the destruction of the sacred olive trees by zealous pilgrims. That explains the erection of massive walls and fences around the garden over the years, which put an end to pilgrims' spontaneous acts of worship and turned their attention away from the olive trees – the most vulnerable object of the garden.Michal Bitton is a landscape architect and a PhD student in Historical Geography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research interests include the geographical history of Israel's gardens and landscapes and design and experience in Christian sacred gardens in the Holy Land.Michal was graduated as a Bachelor of Landscape architecture at the Technion, Haifa, and was practicing her profession for several years in Shlomo Aronson's firm and additional other firms. She also is a lecturer for the studies of landscape architecture in several colleges. Please, follow this link to download the flyer of the event (in Hebrew and in Italian)Please, follow this second link to download the complete program of the series.Event held in Hebrew. Tuesday, March 3rd, at 19:30The NB Haifa School of Design – WIZO School of Design, room 10421 HaGanim Street, Haifa