Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
VILLA ADRIANA
( 06 3996 7900;
www.villaadriana.beniculturali.it
;
adult/reduced €8/4, plus possible exhibition supplement, car park
€3; 9am to 1hr before sunset)
Emperor Hadrian's summer residence
Villa Adriana
, 5km outside
Tivoli, set new standards of luxury when it was built between AD 118 and 134 - a remark-
able feat given the excesses of the Roman Empire. Consider hiring an audioguide (€5),
which gives a helpful overview. Bring a picnic lunch or eat in Tivoli town.
A model near the entrance gives you an idea of the scale of the original complex, which
you'll need several hours to explore.
A great traveller and enthusiastic architect, Hadrian personally designed much of the
complex, taking inspiration from buildings he'd seen around the world. The
pecile
, a large
porticoed pool area where the emperor used to stroll after lunch, was a reproduction of a
building in Athens. Similarly, another highlight of the site, the
canopo
, is a copy of the sanc-
tuary of Serapis in the Egyptian town of Canopus, with a long canal of water enclosed by a
colonnade. The Serapaeum providing a backdrop for the pool was an outdoor summer din-
ing room, where Hadrian would hold banquets.
To the east of the pecile is one of the highlights, Hadrian's private retreat, the
Teatro Marit-
timo
. Built on an island in an artificial pool, it was originally a minivilla accessible only by
swing bridges, which the emperor would have raised when he felt like a dip. Nearby, the
fish pond is encircled by an underground gallery where Hadrian liked to wander.
Don't neglect to take a short walk to the isolated tower of Rocca Bruna. You can walk up
to the top of this for a wonderful belvedere (viewpoint) over the site and the hills beyond.
Hadrian doubtless also enjoyed the view from here.
There are also several magnificent bath complexes, barracks and more, and a museum
with the latest discoveries from ongoing excavations (often closed).
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
VILLA D'ESTE
( 0774 331 20 70;
www.villadestetivoli.info
;
Piazza Trento; adult/reduced €8.50/4, plus possible exhibition supple-
ment; 8.30am to 1hr before sunset Tue-Sun)
In Tivoli's hilltop centre, the steeply terraced gardens
of Villa d'Este are a superlative example of a High Renaissance garden, dotted by fantastic-
al fountains all powered by gravity alone. The villa was once a Benedictine convent, con-
verted by Lucrezia Borgia's son, Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, into a pleasure palace in 1550.
From 1865 to 1886 it was home to Franz Liszt and inspired his compositions 'To the
Cypresses of the Villa d'Este' and 'The Fountains of the Villa d'Este'.
VILLA, GARDENS
