A Renaissance masterpiece just 50 minutes from Rome

Day trips from Rome are a perfect way to explore nearby towns and hillsides. Lucky for us, Rome is close to many beautiful towns full of history. Situated in the hillside town of Tivoli, just a 50-minute drive from Rome, you’ll find Villa d’Este: one of the most impressive Renaissance villas and gardens you will ever visit.

Villa d’Este, with its palace and garden, is one of the most remarkable and comprehensive illustrations of Renaissance culture at its most refined. Its innovative design along with the architectural components in the garden (fountains, ornamental basins, etc.) make this a unique example of an Italian 16th-century garden.

Villa d’Este, masterpiece of the Italian Garden, is included in the UNESCO world heritage sites list. With its impressive concentration of fountains, nymphs, grottoes, plays of water, and music, it constitutes a much-copied model for European gardens in the Mannerist and Baroque styles.

The imposing constructions and the series of terraces above terraces of Villa D’Este bring to mind the hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the wonders of the ancient world. The addition of water – including an aqueduct tunneling beneath the city – evokes the engineering skill of the Romans themselves.

Villa d’Este, one of the first giardini delle meraviglie, was an early model for the development of European gardens, and has had a profound influence on the development of garden design throughout Europe. A trip to this magnificent villa and garden is simply a must, as well as a stroll in the charming town of Tivoli, and a visit to the one-of-a-kind Villa Adriana.

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