Italian Terraces on north-east side of Fishponds in Garden of St Fagans Castle

The Italian Terraces are located on the north-east side of the fishponds in the Garden of St Fagans Castle. The land rises in a series of terraces, with the lowest gravel path bordered on its north-east side by a terrace wall made of stone rubble. This wall features pilasters of roughly dressed stone arranged in irregular courses, topped with stone slab coping. The wall consists of thirteen bays and two part bays. At each end of this path, a flight of steps leads up to a second terrace or gravel path.

In the center of this second terrace, there is a double stone staircase, each half comprising two flights. The lower flights extend outwards at 180 degrees to each other, leading to a landing before each turns through 180 degrees to continue upwards to a third gravel path or terrace. The double staircase is flanked by stone walls with pilasters and has a parapet that is panelled with circular stone foils. At the outer ends of the upper parapet wall, there are cast lead figures of musicians, specifically a flautist at the northern end and a lutenist at the southern end, created by W C May.

From a point aligned with the middle of the upper parapet wall of the double staircase, a flight of seven steps rises to a landing, then turns 90 degrees and ascends through four steps, followed by three more steps to reach another gravel walk. This walk is bordered on its eastern side by a retaining wall leading to the top terrace. This wall is low at the northern end but becomes a high embrasure at the southern end, forming a large, steep-sided rectangular bay or balcony supported by buttresses and a similar stone parapet. At the southern end of the terraces, there is a steep descent to the fishponds via a high flight of about forty or fifty steps.