The Aviary

The Aviary is an aviary built in 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild and was restored between 1960 and 1966. It is constructed from cast iron, metal lattice, and wire mesh, featuring a crescent shape with central and end pavilions.

The design is Rococo in style, characterized by slender cast iron shafts and lattice work pilasters that divide the bays, along with upper borders adorned with elaborate scrolls and shell motifs. The curving ranges of cages consist of four bays each, topped with a roof that resembles a pointed barrel vault, with mesh at the front pitch and an enclosed rear.

The end pavilions are topped with shallow metal domes that are slightly arched on each side. The central pavilion features a glazed dome and a rear wall made of ashlar, designed to look like a grotto. This grotto includes a wide segmental niche for a fountain, piers with shaggy rustication, and tall flanking shell niches. The fountain showcases a carved marble figure of Minerva from the early 18th century, of Italian origin, reclining on tufa rocks, accompanied by marble tritons. The shell niches house 17th-century Italian carved marble figures of a triton and a nereid, both seated on twisted conch shells. The aviary is flanked by walls of ashlar, with the end piers featuring moulded capitals and bases.