between the columns and through the latticed doors of the entrances of
the palaces is pale gold. There is no direct lighting in the court, the
only other illumination being the deep red diffusive flow which
brightens the Italian towers from within, so that the warm, bright charm
pervading the Court by day, gives way at night to a sense of seclusion
and intimacy that makes a poetic appeal equally strong.



Court of Flowers
Italian Tower from Colonnade

The four Italian Towers, equally distant from the Tower of Jewels, two
on either side, furnish the chief elements in the fine sense of balance
and proportion of the south facade of the main group of palaces.
Occurring in in pairs at the entrances of the Court of Palms and the
Court of Flowers and employing the same architectural elements and
decoration, they show a pleasing variety in detail. The towers of the
Court of Flowers have more of simplicity in design and give an even
greater impression of height by the arrangement of columns. The same
fairy by Carl Gruppe crowns all four towers, and helps to give the name
of "the fairy courts" by which they are sometimes called. By the
original design these two courts were to embody the fairy lore of the
Occident and of the Orient, and the Court of Flowers, with the magic of
its golden blossoms and its friendly beasts, enters far into the
conception.



Court of Flowers