Story:
After our stay in France, we headed to Rome, staying in medieval Trastevere with its tiny winding cobblestone streets and caf茅s everywhere.
Just across the Tiber River from downtown Rome, we spent a week touring all the big sites of Western civilization in some incredibly oppressive heat. Rome is magnificent but brutal at the same time.
We decided it was time for a road trip out of the city and away from the crowds.
Our destination was the hill town of Tivoli and the Gardens of Villa d'Este. After some brief bus and subway confusion, we made our way into the countryside and up a steep and a narrow mountain road to Tivoli.
The Villa d'Este is a UNESCO world heritage site and for good reason. The villa, with its palace and grounds, is one of the most remarkable and comprehensive examples of the classic 16th century garden, and was an early model for the development of European gardens through the ages.
The Renaissance Villa d'Este was built in 1550 for Cardinal Ippolito d'Este and was built over a Benedictine convent. The palace was lovely with frescoes in every room but I have to admit we quickly cruised through it to see the main attraction, the amazing garden.
It was designed to impress. It starts directly behind the villa and unfolds down the steep hill as far as the eye can see.
The gardens are composed almost entirely of water features. Fountains of every description are around every corner, enticing you with the sound of water gushing and cascading and flowing.
Every fountain was carefully designed and has a particular role and meaning to the larger picture. We saw the famous Fountain of the Hundred Dragons (that actually roars with gushing water), the walkway with Hundred Fountains, to a miniature watery reproduction of Rome.
Otis's favourite was the Fountain of the Water Organ. An actual organ invented by Charles Venard uses the force of the water and air rushing through the pipes to play music.
Villa d'Este is not only an incredible introduction to the Renaissance gardens of Europe, it is also an engineering marvel. The clever Romans used the steep slope of the hill and the waterpower of the Aniene River to create this gravity-powered oasis.
The river, separated in countless threads, weaves its way through the villa. At the bottom of the garden the tiny streams once again join up to make a sizeable river.
With the exception of the two largest eye-popping fountains, which are electric, everything else operates on natural hydraulics.
The soothing sounds of water and the classic layout of the garden are like stepping into another world after gritty Rome. The three-euro bottle of Lazio region wine we enjoyed after the tour was worth the trip too.
If you are ever in Rome, check it out.
