Villa d'Este is the most beautiful villa in Italy. Villa d'Este Rome, Italy

History of the Villa in Tivoli

The creation of the villa is prescribed to Cardinal Hippolytus II. In 1550 he was appointed governor of the city of Tivoli. Having received a gift of an already existing villa, he decided to improve it architectural appearance and break big park on a steep slope. This was done by the architect and archaeologist Pirro Ligorio. The richness of the decoration of the villa is intended to emphasize the place of the shelter of musicians, artists and writers. The walls of the halls are decorated with stucco, Flemish tapestries, Roman bronzes and antique statues. In the 18th century, the villa fell into disrepair, and after the First World War, it became the property of the state.

Fountains of Villa d'Este

Photos

Villa D "este (tivoli) roma

Villa on the map

Villa D "este (tivoli) roma

Helpful information

The entrance ticket costs 8 euros, allows you to visit the park and the exhibition in the chambers of Villa d'Este. Opening hours from October to April from 8:30 to 16:00, from May to September from 8:30 to 19:45.
Villa d'Este
Piazza Trento, 5
00019 Tivoli RM
Italy
+39 0774 312070
villadestetivoli.info

Villa d'Este rightfully gained fame not only as the most important attraction of the ancient Tivoli, but also the most beautiful architectural structure in all of Italy. And all this splendor naturally fit into the striking beauty landscape complex, consisting of a charming Italian garden, more than five hundred fountains, a huge number of reservoirs, pools, cascades and grottoes.

20 kilometers northeast of Rome, on the very banks of the Anio River and right on picturesque slopes Sabine mountains, overgrown with green olive groves and vineyards, is an ancient italian city Tivoli. Historians suggest that it was founded in the 13th century BC as a major hub and outpost connecting all roads leading to Rome from the eastern part of the empire.

A little later, attracted scenic views, opening from these places to Campagna, as well as the amazingly beautiful waterfalls that the Anio River is so rich in, representatives of the Roman nobility tried to build at least one of their many villas in these places. Since then, the city itself, as well as its surroundings, have become a real treasure trove of samples of ancient Roman architecture. True, during the last world war, the Allied aviation caused irreparable harm to the region with its carpet bombing, changing its historical appearance beyond recognition.

However, for posterity, some bright sights have nevertheless come down, which still attract tourists from all over the world to these places like a magnet. One of these places is the famous Villa d'Este, which rightfully gained fame not only as the most important attraction of ancient Tivoli, but also as the most beautiful architectural structure in all of Italy.
At the same time, the villa harmoniously combines in its architectural grandeur samples of ancient Roman architecture with later buildings dating back to the Renaissance. And all this architectural splendor naturally fit into the strikingly beautiful landscape complex, consisting of a charming Italian garden, more than five hundred fountains, a huge number of reservoirs, pools, cascades and grottoes.

Since its inception, the Villa d'Este garden complex has become a true example of fine taste, which began to be equal landscape designers, subsequently trying to create a similar splendor. Interestingly, when designing the famous Versailles park and, experts studied the experience of the creators of the Villa d'Este park.

Needless to say once again that this unique pearl of medieval architecture invariably attracts visitors from all over the world to these places. And they come here every year, no less than half a million people.
And already in the first year of the new millennium, the garden was introduced world organization UNESCO to the list of universally recognized cultural heritage humanity. Interestingly, in 2007, at a competition organized by famous company Briggs & Stratton, manufacturer of horticultural equipment, Villa d'Este's park complex won the award for "The most beautiful garden in Europe".

Historical reference

The Villa d'Este complex itself was built by Cardinal Hippolyte d'Este, who, being a rival of the ruling Pope Julius III, was exiled to the position of governor small town Tivoli. It happened in the spring of 1550. The young and ambitious cardinal, who was one of the most educated and progressive figures of his time, decided to give a fresh look to the old residence by creating a beautiful park around it.

Not far from the residence of the governor was a dilapidated villa of the Roman emperor Hadrian, famous for its samples architectural buildings, made in styles characteristic of Greece and Egypt, as well as copying many famous miracles Sveta. The young governor of Tivoli decided to reproduce such beauty in his villa. In addition, during the excavations of the ruined villa of Emperor Hadrian, many amazingly beautiful sculptures and statues were found, which then became a real decoration of the d'Este complex, taking their place in the galleries, garden, balustrades and in numerous niches.

To create a project for a garden complex, d'Este hired a talented architect and artist from Naples, Pirra Ligorio, as well as a famous engineer, Alberto Galvani. These two, undoubtedly talented people, erected a luxurious garden on the site of the former Benedictine monastery, constructing complex hydraulic structures in it, supplying water from the tributary of the Tiber, which fed the numerous fountains that the park is so famous for. And given the mountainous landscape and rugged terrain, one can only marvel at the huge amount of earthwork that the creators of the beautiful Villa d'Este had to do.

It should be said that Cardinal Hippolyte II d'Este threw all his unspent young energy into creating the villa of his dreams, the construction of which did not stop for a single moment for 22 years, until the death of the governor.

The last private person who owned the famous villa was Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but after the end of World War I, Villa d'Este was nationalized. The last restoration work on it was carried out after the end of the last world war, as a result of which it acquired the appearance that many tourists can observe today.

The magical beauty of the medieval Villa d'Este

Although, according to modern historians, little has come down to our days from the original appearance of the Villa d'Este, however, what we see today cannot be perceived otherwise than as a miracle. It should be said that the central entrance of the cardinal's residence, which is also called the main entrance, was facing the facade towards metropolitan Rome. The palace is a powerful three-story building based on a solid and reliable plinth.

For objectivity, it’s worth saying that despite the fact that the Palace d’Este itself is organically included in the villa complex and is, in a certain sense, a masterpiece of Italian medieval architecture, and most of its internal walls are lined with beautiful mosaics, it is much inferior to the grandeur of the garden and park complex. An interesting architectural solution was the design central entrance to the residence, which is a beautiful semicircular loggia, bordered on the sides by stair approaches. The loggia itself from below is complemented by a grotto of stunning beauty, framed by a complex of fountains rushing upwards.

Passing through the flights of stairs, you can get to the second floor of the loggia, behind which the entrance to the main hall of the palace was hidden. According to the researchers, the prototype of the central loggia was a similar architectural structure, made by the great Michelangelo in the Palace of the Senators on capitol hill. A little away from the main entrance, another loggia was later erected, covered with three large-scale and majestic arches.

It is also interesting that Cardinal Hippolyte II d'Este, in bringing his creative idea to life, decided to give the new garden surrounding the villa a symbol of the microcosm, harmoniously glorifying the local nature. Such symbolism in architectural solutions was generally characteristic of the Renaissance.

Researchers believe that the very structure of the garden was conceived by the cardinal in the form of the mythical garden of the nymphs of the Hesperides, which was dedicated to one of the legendary heroes, who was considered the progenitor of the d'Este clan - Hercules. It is his sculpture that is the key element of the garden, to which two symbolic roads of “good” and “evil” are stretched.

Right there, on the same line with the statue of Hercules, there was another sculpture - the goddess of love Venus, which also, as it were, offered a person a choice between earthly and heavenly love. In general, the garden was a confirmation of the then fashionable theory of the interconnection of all phenomena in nature, from the very root cause to the consequences it caused. At the same time, a waterfall was thrown down from a nearby mountain, which was intended to symbolize the biblical flood that destroyed fallen humanity. The mountain itself was located much higher than the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The fountain of Neptune depicted the sea, and another fountain symbolized the temple of Artemis at Ephesus.

In fact, the area of ​​​​the garden of Villa d'Este is not that big. Several hundred years ago, the garden was completely visible from the balcony located at the top of the cardinal's villa. Then, at the foot of the garden, there was a flower garden, magnificent in its beauty and richness of the samples presented. Today, most of the garden is filled with overgrown trees and shrub plantings, trimmed by professional gardeners. You can walk between them using fairly narrow paths, somewhat subtly reminiscent of ordinary forest paths.

The very same breakdown of the park was carried out by longitudinal and transverse axes, dividing it into symmetrical zones.
Directly from the front entrance to park area visitors got to the main alley of the garden, which, slightly rising up, led to the main entrance to the cardinal's residence.

According to recognized experts park art, the main grandeur and uniqueness of the Villa d'Este was created thanks to the unusually strong magical effect that its fountains and cascades had on visitors. It was they, bordering a rather narrow passage up to the top of the hill, crossed by terraces, that created indescribable auditory and visual sensations, which were further amplified by those located in different places garden with sculptural figures and compositions.

Without a doubt, each fountains villas plays its own role, carefully thought out by architects, and has its own unique look and meaning. Each of the terraces of the hill is interconnected by bizarre staircases, along the edges of which murmuring streams of water flow down, and each alley passing through the terraces is bordered by small platforms on which tight fountain jets beat into the sky. For example, on the third terrace you can see a fountain made in the form of a huge stone lily. The fourth terrace is decorated with small fountains placed in a niche, which is bordered by relief columns decorated with the family coat of arms of the Duke d'Este: an eagle and lilies. By the way, such generic symbols occur repeatedly in different corners beautiful villa.

On the fifth terrace you can admire the so-called Fountain of the Four Dragons which is located between two steep stairwells, directly in front of the dark opening of the grotto. Just the fifth terrace leads visitors to the famous Alley of a hundred fountains. At the very end of the "Alley of 100 Fountains" is one of the most attractive fountains for tourists. "La Rometta"(Rome in miniature). According to art experts, this fountain is a symbolic image of Rome. That is, in its complex various columns, obelisks and arches, characteristic of ancient city, and the small island itself, personifying the Italian capital, washed by streams of turbulent water, symbolizing the impetuous Tiber. By the way, the fountain itself is made in the form of a stylized ship.

No less interesting for visitors Fountain "Organ", which, thanks to an ingenious hydraulic solution, causes the falling water to extract exciting sounds that burst out through the system of organ pipes. Over time, due to the strong narrowing of the tube opening by internal calcareous deposits, the organ ceased to produce sounds pleasant to the ear. However, thanks to the efforts of enthusiastic specialists from the UK, today the fountain began to sound again.

And the idea for another famous fountain present at Villa d'Este and bearing the name sibyls, according to historians, the great scientist of the Middle Ages Michelangelo himself suggested. This fountain is a half-open shell floating in the middle of a reservoir, inside which is a naiad nymph. In one of the clefts of the tuff rock, which can be seen behind the fountain, there is a sculpture of the soothsayer Sibyl, who could predict human destinies.

How to get to the villa

The easiest way to get to Villa d'Este is from Rome, which is only 20 kilometers away. You can get there by train, which departs from Termini or Tibertina stations, but the easiest way to do this is by bus.

Near the Ponte Mammolo metro station there is a small bus station from which depart every 30 minutes Shuttle Buses to Tivoli. In about half an hour you will arrive in Tivoli at Piazza Cimitero.
After asking for directions, and walking a few hundred meters, you will reach Villa d'Este. Entrance ticket inside the complex costs 10 euro(status as of 2012).

Villa d'Este opening hours

IN summer time The villa opens its doors to visitors from 8:30 am and closes one hour before sunset. The villa is closed on Mondays.

In order to carefully examine the Villa d'Este, you will need at least an hour and a half. Based on this, plan your free time. Most of fountains located on the territory of the villa are constantly working. Only two of them are on schedule.

Fountain Organ starts functioning at 10:30, and then turns on every 2 hours.

Without a doubt, Villa d'Este can be considered a real masterpiece of medieval garden and park art. She is still amazing modern people strict thoughtfulness of their constructive solutions and deep symbolism, which pervades even the smallest detail of this wonderful villa.

And the wonderful villa of Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, created in 1550, will enchant you with its man-made and natural beauties, numerous fountains, creating here the atmosphere of the distant past.

Villa Adriana

Hadrian's Villa occupies such a vast area and boasts such excellent preservation that it is rightfully considered the most famous villa in the vicinity of Rome. In addition, thanks to the surviving buildings, the villa can be called one of the most amazing and important monuments of ancient Roman architecture.

Its construction probably began in 126 AD, after the return of Emperor Hadrian (reigned 117-138 AD) from a long journey through the eastern provinces. It was this journey that inspired the emperor to reproduce in his villa those places and buildings that impressed him the most: the Athenian lyceum, the academy and the painted portico of the Stoa Poikile, the Canobian arm in the Nile Delta, the Tempe Valley in Thessaly.

Although Hadrian's Villa was built on traditional Roman country mansion schemes, its structure also reflects its owner's passion for architecture: it shows how the emperor gave free rein to his creative inclinations and developed more than one innovative architectural solution. After the death of Hadrian, the villa passed into the possession of his heirs, who restored and decorated it.

The decline of the villa began under the emperor Constantine (reigned 306-337 AD), who took some of the art objects stored here to Constantinople. During the barbarian raids, the estate was completely devastated, and in the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of the city of Tivoli used it as a source of building materials. Since the Renaissance, many famous artists began to study the ruins of the villa; some of them did not fail to even leave an autograph here. Since the 19th century excavations and restoration began according to scientific criteria. Model-reconstruction of the villa is presented at the beginning sightseeing route. Its first stage is the spacious portico of Pechile (modeled on the Athenian Stoa Poikile), in the center of which is a garden and a pool; here you could walk for a long time in the sun or in the shade.

From the northeast corner of Pechile, one can go to the Hall of Philosophers - a spacious room with niches, where, probably, there was a library.

This is followed by the "Island Villa" or "Marine Theater" - a round building surrounded by a colonnade. In the middle is an island surrounded by a canal, where four bridges led, and on it - a small villa with various rooms and thermal equipment. It is assumed that the emperor liked to retire here, devoting himself to his favorite pastimes: music, poetry and painting.

To the south of the "Marine Theater" there is a thermal complex with solar heating: several rooms with pools for cold and warm water connected to a large circle of the hall, which is also occupied by the pool; there was a heating system underground, and there were five wide windows in the walls to sunlight freely penetrated inside and warmed the premises of the therm. In the central pool, they probably steamed or took sand baths.

On the east side of Pechile is a courtyard - scientists believe that there was a nymph - and several buildings, including a banquet hall. A little further are the Small and Large terms. All the standard rooms for such ancient complexes are well preserved there: a sports ground under open sky, locker rooms, pools for hot and cold water.

Behind these complexes you will see a small artificial valley - narrow and long: this is the so-called Kanob, reproducing the nature of the Nile Delta near Alexandria. In the center you will see a pool surrounded by columns, and in the depths - a semicircular monumental fountain and the temple of Serapis with Egyptian sculptures and statues of Antinous, the young favorite of the emperor, who died in Egypt under mysterious circumstances.

Returning back, you can go through Pretoria and the Guards Barracks (both rooms may have been simply storage), after which you will find yourself at imperial palace. There were four main groups of buildings here: the Golden Square, the Doric Atrium, the Palace Peristyle and the Library Yard.

The Golden Square consists of a large courtyard surrounded by a portico with columns and surrounded by a group of rooms arranged around a large octagonal space (where summer banquets may have been held). The Doric atrium is a spacious hall with a portico; it may once have been two stories high. Through the Palace Peristyle you can go to the Library Yard; here around the portico with columns of the Corinthian order are various buildings. On one side are the guest rooms, and at the back of the courtyard were two buildings that supposedly housed the Latin and Greek libraries.

From here you can climb to the Tempe Pavilion with Panoramic Terrace, a three-story structure overlooking the valley below, modeled after the famous Tempe Valley in Thessaly. Further, behind a small grove, there is Fede's house, built in the 18th century. on top of the nymphaeum, and a small theater with 500 seats for private performances that were staged for the emperor and his entourage.

Villa d'Este

Villa d'Este is a masterpiece of Italian landscape art and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its stunning ensemble of fountains, nymphaeums, grottoes, hydraulic contraptions and musical devices that served as a model for many European Mannerist and Baroque gardens and parks.

The garden of the Villa d'Este is above all part of the magnificent landscape, artistic and historical context of Tivoli. It is located on a site rich in ravines, caves and waterfalls, where for many thousands of years there was a war between stone and water. Powerful structures and heaps of terraces remind hanging gardens Semiramis - one of the seven wonders of the world ancient world, and plumbing structures, including an underground tunnel, testify to the engineering knowledge of the ancient Romans.

Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, disappointed that he had not been elected pope, decided to create a villa on a scale worthy of the courts of Ferrara, Rome and Fontainebleau, reviving the splendor of the neighboring villa of Hadrian. In 1550, he became the ruler of Tivoli and in the same year he came up with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bsetting up a garden on a steep slope of the local valley, but a full-fledged architectural project The villa appeared only in 1560. Its authors were the artist, archaeologist and architect Pirro Ligorio, and the court architect Alberto Galvani undertook to embody the plan.

The leading representatives of Roman art of the late Mannerist period worked on decorating the halls of the palace: Livio Agresti, Federico Zuccari, Durante Alberti, Girolamo Muziano, Cesare Nebbia and Antonio Tempesta. By the time of the death of the cardinal (1572), the arrangement of the villa was almost completed.

Since 1605, Cardinal Alessandro d'Este ordered new work to be carried out to restore and restore the hydraulic systems and garden vegetation, as well as to make some innovations in the structure of the garden and in the ensemble of fountains.

Another stage of work was carried out in 1660-70, and it is notable for the fact that Gian Lorenzo Bernini himself took part in it.

In the XVIII century. due to lack of proper maintenance, the villa fell into disrepair, and with its transfer to the possession of the House of Habsburg, the situation became even worse. The garden was gradually overgrown, the fountains were turned off and out of order, and the collection antique statues, collected back in the era of Cardinal Ippolito, was divided and taken away in different directions.

The villa remained in this state until the middle of the 19th century, when Cardinal Gustav von Hohenlohe, who took it on a long-term lease from the Dukes of Modena in 1851, initiated work to restore the complex. Soon the estate again became the center cultural life: from 1867 to 1882 The musician Franz Liszt (1811-1886) came to visit the cardinal more than once, composing “Fountains of the Villa d’Este” for piano here. Here, in 1879, Liszt played one of his last concerts.

To get to Lake Como, we flew to the airport of Bergamo, the closest to Milan, of those where they fly low cost airlines like Ryanair. The airport was quite commonplace; it was raining lightly, so spoiling the autumnal Italian landscapes, it was getting colder and darker.

We stupidly waited for the clerk who handled the paperwork for our car. In the midst of this Central European provincial boredom, an aria was suddenly heard, performed by a well-trained tenor. Ironically, it was "Oh myo salt!", a more poppy vocal composition at this time and in this place could hardly be imagined. The performer turned out to be a 28-year-old man with a completely hipster look, he was drinking coffee with two girls at the bar and clearly wanted to impress them. The little dog barked hysterically, and thunderous applause broke out. The man next to us sententiously addressed his girlfriend in Russian: “We are in Italy, baby!”

In the photo: Villa d'Este on the shores of Lake Como

We are in Italy, which we love, like all Russians. We are on Lake Como, for which we have a special passion - not because of the prices of real estate and hotels, but because of the atmosphere, landscapes, villas, gardens and parks. We will not describe the charms of Villa d'Este in Cernobbio, where we stayed for a couple of days by professional invitation: firstly, they are in many guidebooks; secondly, the pleasure was clearly undeserved.

Italian friends and acquaintances, to whom we talked about this hotel, began to laugh hysterically, knowing its level and prices. Energetic pensioner Maria, in whose apartment in Moltrasio we moved a couple of days later, told us bluntly: “And what are you doing here now, in my modest mink?”

We are curious about one story related to the behavior of the Villa d'Este staff. For dinner at the Veranda restaurant, I showed up in a white shirt and jeans, my girlfriend was in a black knitted knee-length dress. The administrator who met us in the lobby of the restaurant in a white jacket and with the face of a well-bluffed cheater subtly formulated the scenarios for the development of events: a jacket with a tie is required for dinner in the restaurant hall, people in shirts are invited to dine at the bar. We wanted a banquet full program, so they first chose one of the 12 proposed ties and settled on the third jacket.

All jackets were clearly intended for strong men with a stomach, so I was a comical sight. Around us during the fitting crowded, it seems, four people with faces of scoundrels of the same type as our administrator. I confessed that I did not know how to tie a tie. I'm sure that after the shift, the four discussed the scene in detail, but at that moment they acted as if nothing unexpected was happening. An additional character appeared, who first tied a tie on himself and handed it to me - obviously, the person we initially turned to did not know how to tie a tie himself. We proceeded to our table, observed several tables with serious people, all the men were in jackets and ties, and the ladies in little black dresses.

There were no men younger than 60 in the hall, this hotel is a reward that lucky old businessmen can afford. "Villa d'Este" maintains the same way, just as the English aristocracy maintains its status for centuries. This conservative institution is not for the nouveau riche, there is nothing designer, nothing defiant in it. But there is comfort, this is the theme of absolute relaxation.

This is a villa, imagine that this is the same Italian villa in which you may have been on excursions, only in this case you also live here: you did not come for a couple of hours, but hung out for several days. And these people - rich old people - were pampered in a special way: they brought them a huge fish on a cart (it is not clear how even four eaters could cope with such a monster), baked pancakes for them on the fire, arranging some kind of culinary show from this. All the waiters, sommeliers and masters kept themselves almost like magicians - a little at a distance, as real circus performers should behave, without entering into direct contact with the public.

They were in a complex communication with the client: on the one hand, they knew that they had to satisfy all the requests of demanding old people, on the other hand, to show a real abstract class. Nearly all of them had the same hypnotic intonation, which seemed to imitate British movie butlers.

Their fullness of knowledge is clearly greater than that of the guests, they are our guide in this world of culinary ritual. These people have been in this hotel for years, decades; as in others resort areas, it's local. They are practically characters, these grown men from 40 to 60, with some very special intonation mood, their smiles resemble the smile of a psychotherapist, and the manner of communication is such that they are talking to an imbecile who can throw a tantrum at any moment. They are a specific breed, by no means handsome, they have the faces of village cunning, but they inspire confidence in a person who does not know how to behave surrounded by such luxury; they are guides, Virgils in this space of unfamiliar luxury, which without them for ordinary person it would be almost intimidating.

During the dinner, we did not so much concentrate on food as we were busy communicating with the waiters, who, with the synchronism of jugglers, brought out the dishes and, with the appearance of conspirators, removed metal caps from the plates. When we looked at the communication of these magical waiters, it seemed that all this was absolutely serious, that both parties knew the rules of the game. The wonderful postscript of this dinner was the fact that, leaving the restaurant hall, respectable rich people took off the ties and jackets given to them at the beginning of the evening - just like me.

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Pavel Matveev- Pavel Matveev lives in Sweden and is engaged in contemporary art. In 2002 he graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University, and in 2012 received a master's degree fine arts at Konstfack in Stockholm.

Villa d'Este in Tivoli: all halls of the villa with descriptions and all fountains with photographs + map, plan, history of Cardinal d'Este and useful information.

Villa d'Este this is a large mansion with a garden, which is located in Tivoli, a suburb of Rome. It is famous for its Italian Renaissance style garden with numerous fountains. Villa d'Este is now classified as world heritage UNESCO and owned by the state.

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Address:
Italy, Tivoli, Trento Square, 5
Piazza Trento, 5, Tivoli, Italy (Italia)

Title in Italian:
Villa d'Este

Title in English:
Villa d'Este

Working hours:
Tuesday - Sunday: 8:30 am to 7:45 pm (schedule varies slightly depending on the season)
Mondays: from 14:00
Sometimes the villa is additionally opened in the evenings and on Mondays (see the website, section "news")
Holidays: 1 , 1 , 25
Fountain Organ first time played at 10:30 and then every two hours
Owl Fountain temporarily (2017) not working

Telephone:
(+39 04) 127 19 036 (where 39 is telephone code Italy)
Phone for calls within Italy: 199 766 166

Fax machine:
(+39 04) 127 70 747