Tivoli -- Villa D'Este

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Tivoli

This was a travel day, as we headed from the Naples area north to Perugia, in Umbria.  About halfway through our trip, autostrada skirted Tivoli on the outskirts of Rome, and we stopped there en route to visit the Villa D'Este.

Villa D'Este, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, was the home of Cardinal Ippolito D'Este, a Borgia, grandson(!) of a Pope, and one of the richest and most powerful men of the 16th century.    (He became an archbishop at age 10 and a cardinal at 30 -- family and financial connections, I suppose!)  His home and extravagant gardens were meant to demonstrate his wealth and power, and are outstanding examples of Renaissance architecture and landscaping. The villa is the usual blend of frescoed rooms and mosaics, but the lack of furniture made it less than fascinating to us. 

The gardens, on the other hand, are fantastic!  The many levels of terraces are dotted with some statuary, but the real beauty was in the perfectly composed views of plantings, house, paths and terraces and the extraordinary fountains and other water features.  All of the water comes from the flow of a diverted river and the hundreds of fountains, cascades, and spouts are powered by gravity alone.  Every couple of hours, a specially engineered flow of water is released through the large Organ Fountain and a recital ensues -- no organist necessary!

Departing yet another Fantasyland, we headed on to Perugia and a comfortable apartment outside the old town, where we'll be based for four nights.