The first part of the essay discusses some of the works that laid the groundwork for the discussion of landscape philosophy, the writings of Simmel (Die Guldenkammer 635–644, 1913), Ritter (Landschaft. Zur Funktion des Ästhetischen in der modernen Gesellschaft. Aschendorff, Münster, 1963), and Assunto (Il paesaggio e l’estetica. Giannini, Napoli, 1973). Then the more recent contributions to landscape theory produced by philosophers are examined: the need for a conceptual distinction between environment and landscape and the difficulties that arise when one thinks of being able to describe it with the categories of natural science alone; the close relationship between landscape and history, and the co-presence in landscape of natural elements and artificial components; the affective and emotional aspects related to our appreciation of landscape; the unassailable individuality of each landscape considered in its aesthetic value; and the problems that arise when one thinks of finding in the garden an ideal for landscape.