TIVOLI
Tivoli sits on a hill not that far from Rome. It was a resort town for the Romans and then much later became a popular destination for Europeans during the Renaissance. There are two primary sites: The Villa d'Este and the Tivoli Gardens and the Villa Adrianna.
Tivoli is in the hills, over looking Rome.
Villa d'Este is famous for its garden with more fountains than you could imagine.
Inside the Villa itself you can see the architecture and decorations. Some rooms have furniture.
Villa Adriana was the summer residence of Hadrian, the Emperor of Rome.
Villa D'Este
Located in Tivoli, the Villa d'Este has its villa and very impressive garden. It is often referred to an example of Renaissance culture at its height. The 16th Century garden with hundreds of fountains is worth a few hours.
The Villa was built in the 16th Century for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este. The rooms of the palace are decorated with frescos but for us, the real sight was the garden.
Architect Berini designed the Fontana del Bicchierone. There are fountains to note ancient sites of Rome.
The cafe off the terrace serves a nice lunch, at a reasonable price.
In 2000 travelled to Tivoli we stayed at a great hotel, the Torre Saint'Angelo, see Great Places to Stay, and it was one of those places you have a love-hate relationship.
A stunning hotel, but for the time we were there, they seemed more concerned with looking after weddings than the regular guests of the hotel. I think the height of tackiness was when they even gave us the wrong room key. Yes we should have realized that instead of a standard room we walked into a suite. It was nice, until while I was in the tub the bride's mother was also given the same key, walked into the room and it was shocking to say the least for both of us. No apologies from the hotel. We were given another room, and the Standard room was very nice.
We stayed in Tivoli and took the train into Rome. It is easy to do but we would rather stay in Rome and enjoy being in the city in the evenings.
Villa Adriana
The Villa Adriana was the summer residence for Hadrian, the Emperor of Rome. He had the villa built between 118 and 134AD. It was one of the largest villas built in the Roman Empire. Being a good Roman Emperor, Hadrian had been around much of the world and he had Adriana built to reflect the buildings he had seen. It is said that he did not loke his palace in rome, and in the later years of his power he governed the empire from this Villa.
One walks into the grounds of the Villa through the Pecile, and this was a reproduction of a building in Athens. The Canopo was built to reflect the snctuary of Serapis near Alexandria which had a long canal of water.
The various structures that remain are well signed, with text in English as well as other languages, and that all helps to give you an understanding of what you are viewing.
After the Roman Empire fell, the Villa started it road to decline. Later in the 16th Century, Cardinal d'Este has most of the marble and statues in the vailla removed to decorate his Villa next door, the Villa d'Este.
We have this on our lists of place for a return visit.