The Villas of Tivoli

In the afternoon I visited two villas in Tivoli, a small town in Lazio. The first, the Villa Adriano, was an enormous complex of Roman Ruins that used to be the preferred residence of the Emperor Hadrian. When he wasn't building walls to separate England from Scotland, executing senators or rebuilding the Pantheon, Hadrian would relax and unwind in this vast estate.

It's impressive how many buildings and statues are still standing today, and the size of them. The site is over 1 km² in size - larger than Pompeii - and contains over 30 huge and intricately constructed buildings that still stand today, in and amongst water basins and nymphaea (fountains). I like the fact that these water basins have been filled with water, unlike in Pompeii or Herculaneum, and how carefully manicured trees have been planted where columns would have once stood - it gives you a much better sense of how these sites would have looked and felt 2,000 years ago. The water basins also contain fish and terrapins 🐟🐢. Despite how impressive the site is and its standing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the complex had very few visitors so walking around felt almost as if I was discovering a long-lost secret!

The second villa I visited is a 16th century estate known as la Villa d'Este, belonging to the Este aristocratic family. The house has the usual fresco-covered artistic interior but what stands it apart is the gardens. Set across 4 vertical levels, they make creative use of fountains and water features to create a really serene atmosphere, it was very pleasant to walk around.Read more