Tivoli Villa d’Este

Entrance to Villa d'Este is through a doorway on Piazza Trento, adjacent to the Church of Santa-Maria Maggiore. The main building is divided into 2 floors wherein the top floor is the living quarters of the self-indulgent d’Este. The lower floor opens up to an unending series of halls, each with its own religious or historical theme.

Today, the courtyard stands at the same place as the cloister of the original convent upon which Villa d'Este is built. Its most striking feature is the fountain of Venus by Raffaelo Sangallo, showcasing a remarkable statue of the sleeping Venus. The fountain is straddled by Doric columns and topped with a marble bust of the Roman emperor Constantine.

The salon offers uninterrupted views of the billowing garden below. The vaulted ceiling displays a frieze and a wide array of frescoes that were designed in 1568 by Livio Agresti. The walls, once brightly colored in gold and green shades and marked with eagles, which are the emblem of the d’Este family, which are sadly completely bare today.

The spacious room boasts of a beautiful mosaic fountain and an alluring fresco showcasing a banquet of Gods, including Jupiter and the gods and goddesses of Olympus on the ceiling.

Undoubtedly, the most rewarding part of visiting Villa d'Este is the upper garden and its breath-taking structures like the Fountain of the Bicchierone, Loggetta of the Cardinal, Loggia of Pandora, Grotto of Diana, and the Grotto of Aegle and Aesculapius. Although the statue of Aegle now rests in the Louvre and Aesculapius in the Vatican Museum.

The lower garden underwent a massive renovation at the start of the 17th century and replaced its pergolas and pavilion with the famous Rotonda of the Cypresses. Along with the rustic fountains, another unmissable feature is the Fountain of Diana of Ephesus and its innumerable breasts that spout jets of water.

This fountain depicting the Tiburtine mountains and important rivers of Tivoli is an architectural masterpiece. The oval stone basin from which the water flows resembles an overflowing glass of champagne.

A spectacular achievement of its time, the hundred fountains feature close to 300 spouts of varying designs along with three different levels where water flows from the uppermost level in descending order.

This visually stunning fountain is a miniature version of Rome replete with the statue of Rome Victorious, a boat with an obelisk mast, Apennine mountains, and a statue of Aniene, the river god.  

Its masterful design contains a central fountain shooting water high in the air and four minuscule dragon sculptures at its foot, jetting spouts of water from their mouths.

The idea for the cascading fountain came from Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 1600s. Today, the imposing structure is supported by powerful water jets and three fish ponds.