Just 24 km from Rome, the city of Tivoli is home to one of the greatest creations of Italian architecture. Villa d'Este in Tivoli is famous for its fountains, shady alleys, bizarre grottoes, unique hydraulic and musical structures and is an example of garden and park architecture of the Baroque era.
Construction history
This ensemble was built by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este. Ippolito was the son of the Duke of Madena and Ferara Alfonso d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia. In the middle of the XVI century. he was appointed governor of Tivoli. This appointment was supposed to brighten up his unsuccessful attempt to take the place of the pope. The monastery of Santa Maria Maggiore became the seat of the new governor. But the dull gray building of the monastery did not meet the needs of the new governor, who was considered a high connoisseur of art. He decided to build a palace on this place, and to lay out gardens along the hills in the vicinity.
The project of the residence was designed by the Naples antiquary Pirro Ligorio, and construction began in 1560. In addition to Ligorio, the cardinal brought in architects and builders to work on the villa, led by Alberto Galvani. The construction took over 10 years. At first, the builders took care of supplying water to the villa: they erected an aqueduct and dug underground tunnels through which water from the Aniene River flowed to the construction site. Only after that they began to equip the park and install fountains.
The villa was inaugurated in September 1572, but Ippolito himself died a few months after this event. A decade later, the villa passed into the possession of the Sacred College of Cardinals and gradually fell into disrepair. And only at the very end of the century, at the insistence of one of the heirs of its first owner, Alessandro d'Este, the estate was transferred to the family property of the d'Este family. He and his successors managed to reconstruct the water supply system, repaired some fountains and built several new ones.
Architecture and interiors
The villa is a single ensemble consisting of a magnificent palace and a picturesque garden that covers almost 4 hectares. The residence was intended for meetings with cultural figures - musicians, poets and artists. All the interiors of the palace were created with this in mind and were supposed to emphasize the high status of this place as a cultural and artistic space.
In the private apartments of Cardinal Ippolito, the frescoes and stuccoes on the walls, traditional for the Renaissance, have survived to this day. In addition to them, the halls were decorated with antique statues, many of which, unfortunately, have already been lost; Flemish tapestries were hung on the walls. The entire concept of interior decoration was developed at the very beginning of construction by the best architects and artists of that time.
Garden
In the Renaissance, any artistic object had to carry some kind of a single humanistic thought. Landscape architecture also obeyed these requirements. Therefore, the concept of the garden in Tivoli expressed several philosophical and political ideas, consonant with the times and thoughts of the owners of the estate. The main entrance to the garden is a wide open terrace with staircases leading from both sides. In the center of the terrace there are fountains, and it ends with a whimsical grotto. The overhanging tiers of the terrace are reminiscent of one of the wonders of the world, the gardens of Babylon.
In the garden itself, you will find many more references to the myths and legends of antiquity. The statue of Hercules, from which, according to legend, the d'Este family originates, is the main figure of the ideological concept. Two paths depart from it at once - one leads a person to vices, and the second to the knowledge of truth and goodness. A similar choice has to be made before the image of Venus - to choose earthly love or eternal, heavenly. In his garden, Ippolito wished to arrange a small copy of the Eternal City - here you can see the most famous monuments of Rome.
Fountains
The main attraction of the villa, despite the magnificent decoration of the palace and the collection of works of decorative and applied art, presented there, are its fountains. They not only performed the function of water supply and irrigation of a beautiful garden, but they themselves became its best decoration. It is no coincidence that contemporaries called the garden of the villa d'Este the Theater of Water.
Numerous cascades, ponds, canals and waterfalls provide coolness and relaxation on a hot summer day. Today there are more than five hundred fountains in the garden. All of them were designed and built in different periods of the villa's history, but the placement of each fountain in the park is carefully thought out and carries not only aesthetic and hydrological functions, but also a deep philosophical meaning.
Fountain of Neptune
One of the most recent fountains installed in the garden was built in 1927, but it fits very organically into the overall composition. It is located right in the center of the park. The majestic statue of the sea lord is visible through the waterfall that falls on it from the Organ fountain. Rectangular fish ponds are laid out in front of the Neptune fountain.
Fountain del Bicchierone
It was built by the famous Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 17th century and therefore bears the second name "Bernini Cup". It resembles a giant wine glass set on a large sink. Bernini personally supervised the progress of its construction and himself regulated the power of the water supply and the height of the jets of the fountain so that they did not obstruct the view of the neighboring fountain.
Fountain "Rometta"
One of the incarnations of the cardinal's idea of reproducing all Roman sights in miniature in his garden. The fountain is called "Little Rome". In the very center there is a sculpture of Roma the Victorious, and further - a statue of a she-wolf feeding Remus and Romulus. The entire composition was made using the features traditional for Roman architecture of that time: columns, arches, obelisks.
Alley of Hundred Fountains
This is perhaps the most famous landmark of the villa. The alley connects two fountains - Tivoli and Rometta ("Little Rome"). Along the entire alley, through the dense greenery, streams of more than 100 fountains make their way. Each fountain, according to the plans of the architects, had to correspond to its own relief, echoing the themes from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The alternation of high cascading structures and small fan-shaped ones creates an extraordinary effect.
Fountain of dragons
It is a composition of 4 dragons sitting in a circle, backs to each other, from whose mouth streams of water rush down. According to Ligorio's plan, the fountain was dedicated to the theme of the struggle between good and evil, so they were going to install the figures of Hercules and Mars with gladiators in the niches. To emphasize the dramatic nature of the idea, during the time of the cardinal, the fountain also emitted loud sounds, imitating cannon volleys or fireworks. Due to the death of Ippolito, the fountain remained unfinished; its construction was completed only centuries later. At the same time, the niches on the sides remained empty, and a statue of Jupiter was erected in the center. At the same time, a single, forty-headed dragon was replaced by four dragons looking in different directions.
Fountain "Organ"
Copies are now installed practically throughout Europe. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that, thanks to a special hydraulic structure, water, passing through special tubes, bursting out, emits melodious sounds. The fountain amazed contemporaries so much that Pope Gregory XII, who was present at the opening of the villa, looked into the interior rooms to check if the real organ was hidden there.
In 2003, the fountain was reconstructed, the musical mechanism was repaired, and now every two hours visitors can hear 4 small compositions of the Renaissance.
Opening hours and ticket prices
Open to the public every day, except Monday, from 8:30 am to 7:45 pm. The time of visiting the garden depends on the season: from May to August the garden is open until 19:30, in winter and late autumn it is open until 16:45 or 17:15. Sometimes the museum is open on Mondays. It is best to check the opening hours on the official website before visiting the villa. Holidays: December 25, January 1 and May 1, the villa is closed. From May to November, a full ticket costs 13 euros, the rest of the time - 10 euros. Children under 17 years old can enter the villa for free.
Tours
You can see the villa yourself. But you will have much more impressions after an individual excursion. You can choose one of the excursions around the outskirts of Rome, including a visit to Tivoli.
For example, the excursion "Masterpieces of Tivoli: Villa d'Este and Villa Hadrian" is an opportunity to immerse yourself deeper into ancient Roman history and the Renaissance. A professional guide, a resident of Rome, will lead you through the shady streets of the ancient city and tell you the most interesting facts about its history. You will find out why the villa of Cardinal d'Este became a model of gardening art and became the prototype of the Versailles garden.
Ville d'Este is devoted to the excursions "Enchanting Tivoli and the luxurious Villa d'Este" and "Tivoli - the city of emperors". You will see the magnificent decoration of the cardinal's palace, look at the ancient frescoes and preserved stucco moldings, learn about the fate of the cardinal himself, who belonged to the famous Italian family.
Go down the marble steps to the garden, where fountains gush among the ancient cypresses and olive trees, learn the history of their creation and what philosophical meaning is contained in each of them, listen to how the Organ fountain sounds. Tours are conducted both individually and for groups of up to 6 people. All children can participate. Tickets to visit the villa are not included in the tour price and must be purchased on site.
Where is it located and how to get there
The complex is located in the historic center of Tivoli in Piazza Trento. From Rome you can get to the villa by train or bus. The bus leaves from the Ponte Mammolo metro station. A ticket to Tivoli costs 2.2 euros. It is better to immediately buy a ticket for the return trip. It is more convenient to get off at the Piazza Garibaldi stop. Cross the square diagonally, and further the road to the complex you will find following the numerous signs. From Rome buses leave from 6 am to 11 pm, and from Tivoli to Rome from 4:30 am to 00:00 am. The journey takes approximately 50 minutes.
If you decide to get to Tivoli by train, then it is worthwhile to study the schedule in advance, because trains run approximately once an hour. They leave from Termini station or from Tiburtina station. The ticket costs 2.6 euros. Tivoli is served by Trentitalia trains from Rome to Pescara. From the train station to the villa, about a little more than one km.
In addition to traditional public transport, a shuttle service can be booked to Tivoli. Its advantages are obvious: an individual approach and the ability to choose the departure time, comfort, and time savings on the way. You can choose a car for one or two travelers, for a whole group of tourists or a large family. If you book a car, then remember that you need to do this in advance, at least one day before the planned excursion.
