patte d'oie

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patte d'oie. Common in French formal gardens, where three, four, or five straight paths radiated out from a central point in a park or garden, so called from its resemblance to a goose's foot. It may have originated in town planning schemes where roads joined in a space, e.g. Piazza del Pòpolo, Rome.

Bibliography

Goulty (1991);
Symes (1993)