Villa-DEste, Tivoli

Villa D’Este, Tivoli

Villa D’Este is located in the small hillside town of Tivoli, about an hour from Rome. The gardens are a must-see if you are in Rome, as they are one of those special places that’s worth making time for.

If there has been persistent rain, it is best to check with Villa D’Este first to ensure that the fountains will be on, as they do suspend them due to the enlargement of the River Aniene. It is not worth visiting the gardens unless the fountains are on.

Villa-D’EsteFountains

It was hard to find the villa at first, as it seems so unassuming from the outside, but what a surprise when you are inside, through the courtyard and into the garden. Wow, the water features, which all symbolise something, were beautiful. Even the views overlooking the valleys and hills surrounding Tivoli are impressive. On a clear day, you can see St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

This is a place we wanted to visit, as we had seen a Monte Dom TV programme about it the previous year. The gardens didn’t fail to impress, leaving us in awe of their sheer natural beauty.

Villa-d’esteGardens

You can take a guided audio tour, but we are not big fans of audio tours and prefer to explore the gardens on our own. We strolled around the gardens at our own pace, taking in every sight, smell and sound in about one and a half hours. The fountains were stunning. We had never seen that many fountains in one place; there were about 500 of all sizes, shapes, and heights, all naturally powered, except for two. There was one huge and thundering fountain, others cascading levels and others small and quiet. There were sculptures, as well as beautiful tulips and lilacs.

Villa-d-esteStatue

You can walk around the inside of the villa, although it is not as spectacular as the gardens. As the weather was a bit unsettled, we decided to explore the gardens first and then take a look around the villa. The villa has some magnificent mosaic floors, frescos and paintings, but otherwise it was bare rooms.

Soon after we arrived, the water organ started to play, and we caught a couple of minutes of the remarkable instrument where water pushes air through the organ pipes and plays real music, not just random notes. The hydraulic organ of the Organ Fountain is active daily, from 10.30 am every two

Villa d’Este Gardens

You need good mobility, as there are many levels and steps, as well as steep ramp paths to climb; however, a lift is available to take visitors to one lower section. I struggled a bit and noticed that other people were taking their time going back up the hill, as it is pretty steep. But there are also places to rest.

This is not a gardener’s garden, in the true sense, but rather about garden design. However, I should point out that if you were looking for different varieties of plants and flowers, you would be disappointed.