Tivoli – Hadrian’s Villa & Villa d’Este

A few kilometers from Rome there are two magnificent architectural complexes, one from the Roman times and the other from the sixteenth century. The Villa Adriana was built between 117 and 138 A.D. and is the first and oldest of the Tivoli’s villas. In the last years of his life Emperor Hadrian’s dream was to surround himself with the places which he most admired during his travel and war campaigns. To traditional buildings Hadrian added reconstructions of the Lyceum, the Academy, the Pecile of Athens, the Canopus of the Nile Valley, of the Tempe Valley in Thessaly and even the Underworld as the Greek and Latin poets  had imagined it. The Villa d’Este, built in 1556 for Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, was designed by the famous architect Pirro Ligorio, who used all of his exceptional techniques and creativity. The Villa d’Este fascinates the spectator with gorgeous gardens and an idyllic atmosphere with many and monumental fountains, with water jets and water plays and visual and sound effects that are perhaps unique in the world.