Villa d'Este, Tivoli, Italy

Continuing to rewind our picture collection we stopped today over one of many Italian garden masterpieces – Villa d’Este. It was a quite long time ago when we have visited the splendid gardens but if you plan to visit Rome for more than one week, than you may consider visiting this UNESCO world heritage masterpiece.

Upper right corner - Fountain of Diana of Ephesus and right bottom - The Rometta fountain.

Villa d’Este is located in Tivoli, a small town positioned about 30 km of Rome. Can be easily reached by car, train or buses, even if it is a little bit hassle to get there by public transit because of the old buses and gritty areas. Don't be worried about it, at the end of the trip you’ll be recompensated with an amazing and breathtaking beautiful Renaissance gardens and fountains view.

The history says that: “The villa and its gorgeous gardens were built in 1570 by Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, who illustrated in an exceptional manner the principles of Renaissance design and aesthetics. The gardens were realized in the hanging cliffs of the Valle Gaudente (Gay Valley), with the aid of the painter-architect-archeologist Pirro Ligorio and Alberto Galvani, court architect-engineer of the Este family.They were assisted by Tommaso Chiruchi, one of the most skilled hydraulic engineers of the sixteenth century, and by a Frenchman, Claude Vernard, an experienced manufacturer of hydraulic organs. Together they revived the Roman techniques of hydraulic engineering. They also brought back to life an ancient Roman tunnel diverting water from the Aniene river, to supply water to the sequence of fountains."

The three rectangular ponds(on the upper right corner), Fountain of Neptune(lower right corner) and the Rometta Fountain.

Allow yourself plenty of time when visiting Villa d’Este, we spent about 4 hours in the gardens and unfortunately didn’t get to see completely the villa from inside. Small remark should be made upon your cameras memory card and batteries – don’t forget to charge or to have additional batteries – enough memory should be kept for the entire visiting period.

The Fontana dei Dragoni (The Dragons Fountain).

Breathtaking view from the Villa's terrace - down to the main axis of the gardens, which fall away in another series of terraces in the Valle Gaudente (Gay Valley).

Overall view from the top of the Fountain of Neptune: the three large ponds, the gardens, the palace on the hill and Le Cento Fontane