Gardens of Earthly Delight: Villa d'Este
By Pamela Robin Brandt
Proceed post haste through the rather drab, dimly lit Renaissance
villa, converted from a Benedictine convent to a country retreat
for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este (grandson of Borgia Pope Alexander
VI) in 1550, pausing only at a window of the Old Apartments
for a panoramic view of the real reason people come to this
estate 40 kilometres from Rome.
Its elaborate terraced gardens (probably the most formal
garden in Italy, virtually symmetrical), enhanced by Mannerist-style
statues, pools and, especially, fountains -- hundreds of ingenious,
playful fountains.
On the upper garden walk is the shell-shaped Bicchierone
Fountain, attributed to Bernini.
The Rometta Fountain to the left, reproduces in miniature
some of classical Rome's most famous monuments. A right turn
off the Avenue of a Hundred Fountains takes one to the Bird
Fountain, which once produced bird song.
On a lower walk, a fish pond is overlooked by the Organ Fountain,
where concealed, water-powered organ pipes used to play music.
Rude giochi d'acqua sprays that once spit on unsuspecting
garden guests are also, fortunately, no longer functioning.
While the Villa d'Este is the main attraction in this Appenine
hill town, once a playground for wealthy Classical and Renaissance
Romans, it would be unthinkable for garden enthusiasts to
miss Tivoli's two additional waterworks wonders.
Hadrian's Villa (118-134 A.D.), probably the largest and
most elaborate villa in the Roman Empire, landscaped to resemble
some of the sites the monarch had visited on his campaigns
(such as the canal-side route from Alexandria to Canope in
Egypt, lined with typical temples and gardens); and the Villa
Gregoriana, a wilder park peppered with hillside temple ruins
as well as gorges, caves, and designer waterfalls -- one cascade
courtesy of Bernini.
Information:
Where:
Villa d'Este
Tivoli, Italy
Hours:
Open daily except Mondays, from 9 a.m. until one hour before
sunset (about 7 p.m. in summer, 4 p.m. in winter).
Getting There:
Both the Villa d'Este and the Villa Gregoriana are located
in the town of Tivoli, 40 kilometres east of Rome. By car,
take the S5. A Rome-Tivoli COTRAL bus leaves Rome from Via
Tiburtina (which turns into the S5 outside the central city's
'Grande Raccordo Anulare' circle road). Villa d'Este is on
the west side of town, where the S5 enters, several blocks
northeast of the tourist info office on Piazza Garibaldi;
Villa Gregoriana is on the east side, several blocks north
of the bus' terminus at Piazza Massimo.
Hadrian's Villa is three miles outside of Tivoli. If coming
from Rome on the S5, ask the bus driver to drop you at the
Villa Adriana's access road, from which the Villa is a 15-minute
walk. Coming from Tivoli, take the local CAT bus from Largo
Garibaldi.
Price:
8000 L, Villas d'Este and Adriana; 2500 L, Villa Gregoriana.
For Further Info:
39 0774 31 20 70 - Villa d'Este phone/fax
Website: www.villadeste.it/
For Flights and Airfares to Italy - click
here for the Travel Homepage.
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