|
At
Tivoli
 see
by the huge quarries, where in antiquity, thousands
of slaves and prisoners toiled in dangerous
and brutal conditions to excavate large travertine
lime-stone blocks used for constructing the
Colosseum, the
Theatre of Marcellus,
numerous
aqueducts
and
bridges, all still
surviving in Rome today. Proceed to the close
by Villa of Hadrian,
erected between 118AD and 125AD, a fabulous
imperial dwelling-complex, quite probably designed
by this highly sophisticated, intelligent and
art-loving sovereign, which sprawls over low
valleys and slopes shaded by magnificent umbrella
pines, olive tress and cypresses. The extraordinary
variety of edifices, loose adaptations of prestigious
monuments which inspired Hadrian during his
extensive voyages throughout the vast territories
of the Roman Empire were partially unearthed
in the Renaissance. Its buildings influenced
many great architects like
L.B. Alberti,
Bramante, Michelangelo, Raphael
and later, in the baroque age, fascinated
Bernini and Borromini
. Some 500 beautiful
ancient Greek
and Roman statues
were dug out in the grounds and are now in
 the
Vatican and Capitoline Museums and other prestigious
European Museums. Your expert but entertaining
guide will unravel and show the grounds, bringing
alive the imperial court's daily life under
Hadrian,
a capable emperor, who though often indulged
in dissolute and licentious activities. See
the
Maritime Theatre,
Greek and Latin Libraries
where the emperor enjoyed intellectual discussions
in the company of philosophers, poets and artists,
the
Throne Room,
Imperial Palace
Wings, Palaestra,
Poikile, the Stadium,
Greater
and
Smaller Roman
Baths
and the famous
Canopo Water-Canal
surrounded by arcades and ancient statues where
high visiting political dignitaries were entertained
and which was named after a branch of the Nile
river in which Antinous, an adored youthful
companion, tragically drowned in mysterious
circumstances.
Then visit Villa
D'Este
a dream-like fairytale renaissance palace with
gorgeously sculptered gardens which belonged
to
Cardinal Ippolito
II,
son of
Lucrezia
Borgia
member of one
of the most infamous families in the history
of the papacy. Specifically created to console
this cardinal after his unsuccessful attempt
at being elected pope in the 1550 conclave.
You will witness the opulent way of living of
one of the wealthiest men of his time and stroll
through the gardens filled with fountains of
cascading gurgling waters, with hundreds of
hissing jets, a setting worthy of kings, popes
and princes who were regular guests of the cardinal's
splendid court. One of the very first Italian
renaissance styled gardens, it was laid out
by a great antiquarian Pirro Ligorio who retraced
descriptions and documentation on the "Ars Topiaria"
(landscape gardening) developed by the ancient
Romans in republican and imperial times. The
ingenious hydraulic systems invented by Ligorio
to funnel the huge volumes of water from Tivoli's
Aniene river to feed all fountains and
to produce the strong pressures needed for the
jets of water are astonishing even today. Be
enveloped by the fragrances, cool sprays and
inebriating scents of the lush and relaxing
vegetation and feel what it was like to live
as renaissance prince and discover how Franz
Litzt was bemused and stimulated into composing
his
"Fountains of
Villa D'Este". Search out the distant dome of
St.Peter's on the horizon before returning
to Rome. Duration 4 hours.
|
