Tivoli
The city of Tivoli is situated along the Aniene river near the Great Waterfall on the western slopes of the Monti Tiburtini (high hills to the East of Rome). Since ancient times the town has taken advantage both of its climate and its strategic position as it controlled all the traffic from and to Abruzzo.
Over the centuries the richness of the waters favoured the construction of large architectural complexes. The most remarkable examples being the Villa Adriana dating from the Roman times, the 16th century Villa d’Este and the 19th century Villa Gregoriana built on the floor of the valley where the River Aniene flowed below the Acropolis.
Le ex cartiere
Urban development has slightly changed the old Roman buildings. Several changes took place especially during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the 19th century. More radical changes took place after the Second World War because of the scale of destruction. Legend would have it that the city dates back to 1215 B.C. and coincides with the founding of the Latin village (Tibur) which probably stood on the site of the acropolis. Rome soon took control over Tivoli (380 B.C.) to which it was linked by Via Tiburtina. The most ancient 4th century BC buildings still visible today are the defensive walls which made up a rectangle surrounding the Acropolis and the ancient district of St Paul. During the 2nd century BC, the town underwent radical urban renewal that affected all the most important urban areas. Some imposing public buildings were built such as the Sanctuary of Hercules the Victor (presently undergoing archaeological digs and restoration) and the Temple of the Cough. At the end of the 15th century a convent was erected on its ruins then, at the end of the 18th century, that too was replaced by several factories and paper works. The temple was located along the old route of Via Tiburtina, the present-day Via degli Orti. The Forum was built during the same period in the same place where the Piazza del Duomo stands today. The remains of the Augusteum, the Mensa Ponderaria (the Weights and Measures office) and traces of a basilica standing behind the cathedral apse can still be seen today. Tivoli’s two most famous temples were erected on the site of the Acropolis. The rectangular one called the Temple of the Sybil and the round one known as the Temple of Vesta. During the Middle Ages they were converted into churches. Finally, near the Rocca Pia stands the Roman Amphitheatre (known as the amphitheatre of Bleso).
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the new town was built over the mediaeval town through very substantial urban restructuring. The Forum being replaced by St Lawrence’s Cathedral being an excellent example.
Tivoli maintained a reasonable degree of political autonomy up to the early Middle Ages, a period during which the larger suburban villas dating from Roman times fell into a state of disrepair. The city regained its former splendour with the return of Federico Barbarossa. New city walls were put up (1155) and the urban area was considerably enlarged. Between the 11th and 12th centuries, many turret-houses were built within the urban area. These very high, quadrangular buildings were used both as dwellings and as defence. They were located in key strategic points of the city. The Arengo Palace, the Town-Hall tower and the Church of St Michael that were so much the heart of social and religious life were built in roughly the same period. Somewhat later, Tivoli was divided into 4 districts: Castrovetere, San Paolo, Santa Croce and Trevio. In 1461 Pope Pius II had the Rocca Pia built to subjugate the city to the power of the church. The mighty rectangular fortress boasts four round corner-towers.
Villa d’Este, the splendid villa designed by Pirro Ligorio, was built when Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este was appointed governor in 1550. Following his appointment, there was a real building boom and many superb aristocratic palaces were erected. In the late 16th century, the new Town Hall was built on part of the Roman walls and incorporated some mediaeval buildings. The building was first used as a convent and then renovated in the 19th century.
Two of the city’s main churches were built during the Baroque period. They were: The Cathedral of St.Lawrence (1635-40) that replaced some ancient medieval buildings and the Church of Jesus that was destroyed by bombing in May 1944.
In 1826 Aniene river broke its banks and caused serious damage to the residential area of the city. The only way to relieve the situation was to divert the course of the river. Two tunnels were dug under Mount Catillus following a plan by the architect Clemente Folchi. The waters of the river when channelled into the tunnels formed the great waterfall that dropped one hundred-metres into the Villa Gregoriana valley floor. During the same period, Piazza Rivarola was restored and Ponte Gregoriano built. Ponte Gregoriano was named after the Pope who ordered the river to be diverted.
Villa Adriana
Villa Adriana and Teatro marittimo
Hadrian’s Villa lies in the valley below Tivoli and is spectacular for the sheer majesty of its architecture.
It was commissioned by the Emperor Hadrian who personally supervised its construction. The villa was built in various stages, the first of which dealt with the remodelling of a previous villa belonging to the republic.
Villa Adriana is an ensemble of impressive constructions, roads, spas, lakes, libraries, theatres and temples that some historians consider to be projections of places visited by the Emperor during his travels.
The design was certainly inspired by Nero’s Domus Aurea, the wonderful Roman royal palace that was destroyed after the Emperor’s death. It was built between 64 and 69 AD on plans by the architects Severo and Celere.
Hadrian wanted to reproduce the buildings and places that had struck his imagination during his many travels through the provinces. The Lyceum, the Academy, the Pritaneo and the painted Poicile in Athens; the ancient Egyptian city of Canopus on the Nile delta; the Valley of the Temples in Thessaly.
Well versed in Grecian culture, Hadrian had no problem blending Greek sophistication with his practical approach to ruling that had been entrusted him by Rome.
Symbolic buildings and baths
Grandi Terme – Il Frigidarium and Il Canopo
The first of these buildings, that marked the start of his travels, include the most famous of the inspired design. They include the Athenian Poicile and the Egyptian Canopus that immediately strike the eye and are both provocative and deeply significant.
The Poicile is made up of a wide rectangular area enclosed by a wall that is 9 metres high and 90 metres long that also houses the villa entrances.
Originally, it was walled in by a peristilium inspired by the famed painted Poicile gallery in Athens and opened on to a large pond stocked with fish. Le Cento Camerelle (hundred chambers)– were built to support the enormous span of the Poicile, in fact, another 15 metre addition became necessary. What purpose the “chambers” served is unclear. It has been suggested that they were for housing the Imperial guard whereas others maintain they were cells where slaves were kept.
The Nympheum was located near the Poicile and resembled a stadium. Digs carried out in 1958 allowed the structure to be identified as a nymphaeum with its huge semicircular pool and splendid fountains. To the East of the nymphaeum lies an area with four galleries housing the fish pond while to the West, towards the Poicile, there was a building of typical Hadrian style that was divided into two sections: a square-shaped colonnade with a fountain in the centre and a large lounge area with three aisles and bordered on three sides by galleried seating areas.
Le Piccole e le Grandi terme (The little and large baths)- Are located between the Poicile and the Canopus. The first, that is in better condition was probably reserved for woman bathers. The baths announced innovative and elegant designs like the octagonal tepidarium with alternately straight and convex lines and an elliptical room with two pools in the recesses. Marble steps led into the swimming pool that had two small recesses.
The Grandi Terme that were substantially larger were probably intended for men and present all the typical Roman characteristics. The first thing that we meet is the frigidarium that was used for cold baths. In fact this was used for the last part of the bathing ritual typical of Romans. There was a stately apsidal chamber, the walls of which had recesses for statues. This was followed by a circular room capped by a dome with fourteen openings , probably used to support a round curtain.
The Canopus – this was located in a small valley and inspired by the Egyptian Canopo, the navigable canal that joined Alexandria in Egypt to the ancient city of Canopo about 20 km away. Hadrian, did not just want this “reproduction” to recall political or military glories. It was dedicated more to the place where Antonio, his favourite companion, drowned (perhaps intentionally).
Apart from the elongated shape of the lake, the Tiburtine Canopus was very different from the Egyptian original at least according to a description given by the geographer Strabo during the times of the Emperor Augustus. At the end of the “canal” lay a splendid semi-circular nymphaeum covered by a white mosaic, crescent-shaped, segmented dome. The walls were lined with recesses for statues and water flowed down the steps to be channelled to an outside reservoir.
A large number of sculptures and statues were uncovered during archaeological digs during the 50’s and most of them are now on display at the Vatican and Capitolino Museums in Rome.
The Imperial Palace
Teatro Marittimo
The magnificent ruins of the Imperial Palace are made up of three main units with enormous colonnaded or peristyle courtyards. The collection of buildings covers an area of approximately 50,000 square metres (almost 60,000 square yards). The site lies to the West of the tour we will suggest. The digs carried out to date have unearthed only one part of the site. Future revelations may well change what in some cases is still conjecture.
We feel it best to begin a tour of the site near the Canopus then heading right towards the Prætorium, a grandiose multi-floor service building with high arches along the façade. From here we go back skirting the fishpond to reach the most magnificent of the three palace peristyles.
La Piazza d’Oro – (The golden piazza) This huge open almost square space was not called the “golden piazza” by chance: The area was not only decorated with the most exotic of materials but showed some very original architectural designs and solutions that are highly appreciated by scholars. Access is through an octagonal vestibule capped with a dome featuring spherical segments and supported by eight columns. Some of the most beautiful floor mosaics in the entire villa are to be found in one of the nearby buildings. The peristyle is bordered by a double gallery with 60 granite and cipolin columns.
Il peristilio di Palazzo – (the Palace Peristyle) Heading Northwards, we come to the central unit of the palace with its majestic rooms from which Hadrian exercised all his Imperial power. The peristyle is surrounded the palace and is the second largest of the three colonnaded courtyards that are an essential part of this vast Imperial complex.
Sala dei pilastri dorici – (The chamber with Doric Pillars) This chamber is located between the peristyle and the Piazza d’Oro, and in all probability was used for legal matters. Because of its sharp angular construction, this area stands out amid the soft curved lines that were so much a feature of the Villa. The restoration work carried out clearly demonstrates this particular feature.
Il ninfeo di Palazzo – (the Palace Nymphaeum) The nymphaeum was one of the rooms that ringed the palace. It was enclosed at one end by a high semi-circular wall in the form of an exedra or outdoor seating area and the walls were interlaced patterns made of brick. There were tow pools in the centre of a small piazza that was paved in opus spicatum.
Il terzo perstilio – (the Third Peristyle) At this stage we have arrived back again within sight of the Poicile near which we find the area contained within the library peristyle. This is reached passing through several very interesting rooms next to the short Eastern side of the Poicile.
La sala della biblioteca (o sola dei filosofi) – (the Library Room or Philosophers Room) The first sight that greets you is an enormous room with arched apses as a backdrop. Seven recesses are set flush in the walls. The room is also referred to as the Philosopher’s Room or the Temple of the Stoics and was certainly used as a library.
Il Teatro Marittimo – (the Maritime Theatre) The adjoining Maritime Theatre was one of the most curious rooms in the Villa and perhaps serves to underline the particularly complex personality of Hadrian. It was a small artificial island in a curved vestibule that was further divided into widely varied designs. It was completely surrounded by water. The entire theatre was encircled by a colonnade.
Il Cortile delle Biblioteche – (the Library Courtyard) We now arrive at the third of the three great peristyles of the Imperial palace that is surrounded by a colonnade made up of Corinthian columns. The name comes from the fact that it is surrounded by what are traditionally known as the Latin and Greek libraries.
Gli hospitalia (o Camere per ospiti) – (the Guests rooms) These rooms are located on the Northeast corner of the peristyle and extend along the side of the building. There are ten rooms connected by a wide corridor that leads to a large communal room. Each of the rooms had three rectangular alcoves and a mosaic floor with a black and white weave.
Il padiglione di Tempe (the Tempe Pavilion)
This was a large terrace with a magnificent view that offered guests in the “hospitalia” a breathtaking view over the waters of the Acqua Ferrata below.
The Summer Residence
Piranesi – Veduta di Villa Adriana
Some distance from the other areas visited, a path goes up from the Canopus museum to the outlying sector of the villa. This area enjoys a spectacular view and lies amidst a fabulous olive grove that houses one of the largest tress in the Tiburtine region.
La torre di Roccabruna – (Roccabruna Tower) Only the rectangular base remains of the facade that had two large semicircular niches. On the interior is an octagonal-shaped room with a dome.
L’Accademia o Piccolo Palazzo – (The Academy or Small Palace) Many parts of this complex are yet to be excavated. The inner courtyard is surrounded by several buildings including an octagonal pavilion and a temple to Apollo, a noteworthy round two floor building that featured a dome in its time.
The “non-archaeological” area
Leaving the “archaeological” area, there is a cypress-lined path from the Poicile that leads to a clearing among the trees where the circular temple to Venere Cnidia was reconstructed in 1958 using architectural fragments. In the centre stands the mould of the Roman copy of Venere Cnidia that is kept in the Canopus museum.
To the right of the temple and at the end of a path are the remains of the Gymnasium. Further along the way on the left lies the small Greek Theatre (36 metres diameter) that still has parts of its pits and stage.
Villa d’Este
The Villa was designed by Pirro Ligorio and built in 1550 by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este. It made radical changes to both the natural landscape and to current
building practices of the Middle Ages.
The normal urban layout was changed in two ways. First by the building of the villa and its gardens that replaced the normal Mediaeval system. Secondly by the construction of a new road, Via dell’Inversata, along which new residences were built.
The landscape was also radically changed with differing ground levels being established by the gardens. Originally these gardens did not have the robust trees we see today. The gardens featured wonderful water jets and numerous fountains on the villa grounds. They were built in 1550 by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, the son of Lucrezia Borgia and Alfonso I d’Este, along plans designed by Pirro Ligorio, on the site of a Mediaeval quarter known as the Valle Gaudente. The splendid fountains were fed with water from the River Aniene by aqueducts running under the historic centre. The courtyard situated at the entrance had been a Benedictine cloister that was taken over by the villa.
The Italian garden highlighted the architectural techniques and art of gardening of the Renaissance period. The best-known fountains are: The Cento Fontane, the Bicchierone, and the dell’Organo, (where the water supply system for the Ovato and Draghi fountains were situated).
The Villa
Villa d’Este – Targa d’ingresso
The present day entrance is in Piazza Tranto and is made up of a 15th century gateway that opens on to a wide vaulted passageway decorated with frescoes that in turn leads to the ancient Benedictine cloister. Alongside the Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore sits a fountain with a statue of Venus, a sarcophagus pool and a 4th century marble bust positioned on high. The final touches are two 14th century marble busts. The upper level rooms are accessed via the cloister.
The Gardens
La fontana di Nettuno and Le Cento fontane
Diana’s grotto is the Renaissance centrepiece of the gardens and is adorned with stuccoes, mosaics and images representing Neptune, Minerva and the Muses. Further into the gardens lies the Fontana del Bicchierone, that was designed in the form of a large shell by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Going downwards to the left lies the Rometta that is a small-scale reproduction of the main buildings of ancient Rome. Continuing along we come to the Rometta Fountain decorated with eagles, ships, obelisks, fluer de lis and embossings depicting themes from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”.
The Cento Fontane pathway leads to the Fontana dell’Ovato that symbolically represents Tivoli as opposed to Rome with its Rometta Fountain. Sitting above the waterfall are rocks that make up the pedestal for a statue of Pegasus. The semi-circular pond houses eight nymphs spouting water.
The Villa’s main attraction was and still is the spectacular Fontana dell’Organo. This superb fountain conceals a water-operated organ by the French designer, Claudio Venard. There is a wonderful Baroque shrine overlooking the fountain basin.
The Fontana dei Draghi is situated between double flights of steps. It took its name from the group of four dragons that spurt out high jets of water from their huge jaws. This fountain was built in honour of Gregory XIII, one of Ippolito d’Este’s guests, in 1572.
Another truly amazing sight must have been the Fontana della Civetta. Although no longer present, this fountain housed a complex mechanism that created a scene of birds moving and singing until an owl appeared and scared them into silence. Remains of this work by Giovanni del Luco and Raffaele da Sangallo, are seen in the colonnades decorated with sprays of flowers, depictions of the Este eagles, the fleur de lis and the embossings.
The Fontana di Proserpina is to the left of the Fontana della Civetta. The sculptures in the nymphaeum depict “il ratto di Proserpina”. Two niches to the side are flanked by columns depicting grape vines.
La fontana dell’Organo
Following part of the city walls leads to the Peschiere, one of two huge square basins designed for fish breeding. The view from here of the Neptune Fountain is spectacular. It was built by Attilio Rossi with the aim of giving a sense of visual continuity to the fishponds and the towering Fontana dell’Organo. It achieves this thanks to the magnificent jets of water it shoots high into the air.
A spectacular view of the whole villa, the fountains and surrounding landscape can be enjoyed from the Rotonda dei Cipressi, also by Gabriele D’Annunzio.
Using the newly designed entrance to the villa in Piazza Campitelli, it will be possible to enter the mediaeval section of the town.
UNESCO INSCRIPTION
Plastico della Villa
Villa Adriana (Tivoli)
Inscription N° 907 1999 C (i) (ii) (iii)
Criteria (i) and (iii) The Villa Adriana is a masterpiece that uniquely brings together the highest expressions of the material cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world.
Criterion (ii) Study of the monuments that make up the Villa Adriana played a crucial role in the rediscovery of the elements of classical architecture by the architects of the Renaissance and the Baroque period. It also profoundly influenced many 19th and 20th century architects and designers.
Villa d’Este (Tivoli)
Inscription N° 1025 2001 C (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (vi)
Criterion (i) The Villa d’Este is one of the most outstanding examples of Renaissance culture at its apogee.
Criterion (ii) The gardens of the Villa d’Este had a profound influence on the development of garden design throughout Europe.
Criterion (iii) The principles of Renaissance design and aesthetics are illustrated in an exceptional manner by the gardens of the Villa d’Este.
Criterion (iv) The gardens of the Villa d’Este are among the earliest and finest of the giardini delle meraviglie and symbolise the flowering of Renaissance culture.
