Tivoli & Villa D'Este Gardens

Tivoli an historic hill town in the Lazio region approx 40 km east of Rome, in the Monti Tiburtini, where the climate is cooler than Rome, and is one of the most popular destinations for day trips from Rome.

Tivoli's two most famous tourist attractions are the magnificent gardens of the Villa d' Este and the extensive ruins of Hadrian's Villa (known as Villa Adriana).

During the Renaissance period, Popes and Cardinals erected villas & palaces in Tivoli. In 1461 Pope Pius II built the massive Rocca Pia castle as a symbol of papal power in Tivoli.

In 1547 Tivoli was attacked  by bands of supporters of the Emperor in a war against Pope Paul IV and ransacked & destroyed all the villas & the papal castle.

From the 16th century the city saw further villa construction.The most famous of these is the Villa D'Este .

In 1944 Tivoli suffered heavy bombardment damage by the Allied forces air blitz, which totally destroyed the Jesuit Church and many other historical palaces.

Villa d’ Este
Villa d' Este, with its wonderful gardens in a variety of styles,make this a unique example of an Italian 16th-century garden. Villa d' Este is included in the UNESCO world heritage list.

The villa was built in the 1550s for Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, the son of Duke Alfonso d’Este and Lucrezia Borgia after his failure to become Pope.
The Cardinal commissioned Pirro Ligorio to convert the villa into one of the most astonishing and lavish villa outside Rome for him to entertain the aristocrats and nobles of Rome as to influence their votes at the next papal elections.

The main attraction for visitors, however, is the breathtaking gardens designed to impress the Cardinal's guests, the Villa d'Este's gardens are composed almost exclusively of water features.
Fountains of every description dazzle the visitor, from the grand 'Fountain of the Dragons' and 'Hundred Fountains', to a miniature watery reproduction of Rome. The centrepiece, the gigantic Water Organ fountain.

The villa was complete at the time of the Cardinal's death in 1572. From 1803 it was owned by Austrian Hapsburg – Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne who was murdered in Sarajevo.

The villa was later abandoned, left in a state of ruin until the early nineteenth century, with statues and most works of arts being stolen. The Duke of Modena acquired the villa in 1851 and between 1867 and 1882 (15 years) the villa was restored to its original splendour.

During the First World War the villa was once again abandoned, and during the Second World War part of the villa was severely damaged by the bombing in 1944. After the war the Italian government bought the villa and after extensive restoration it was turned into a museum.