History of Villa d’Este
has been a well-known location for a summer residence since ancient Rome, when emperor
built his private villa in the countryside. The
’s cooler location and views over the valley below (including
) were among the reasons that
took over the location around 1550. The
, built in the 9th century, then became the place for the large estate we see today.
other duties in and outside of Rome, constructing
took many years, from 1560 to 1586 with the death of Ippolito’s nephew, Cardinal Luigi. Once the initial gardens were completed, the extensive gardens started to decline because of their
and the lack of income they produced.
brought the overgrown gardens back to their former beauty, this time designing the villa in the romantic style. He also invited
to create their respective works of art about the recently redone gardens.
, who then added their own restoration projects in the 1920s.
Connections to Villa Adriana
, despite being built centuries apart have a few similarities in their design and building materials.
, a classical scholar and
extensively to prepare his designs for
. Lingorio wanted his villa to exceed the ancient Roman design, along with anything else that the ancient Romans had built.
Another connection these villas share is the
used in their designs. Once Lingorio had completed his design, much of the marble and statues used in
were sourced from the ruins of
, as well as other important churches and buildings in
The many fountains of Villa d’Este
are undoubtedly the most prominent features in the villa, and they give the gardens their character. Below are just a few of the
, but they are all worth exploring.
, is one of the most recognizable fountains in
, was completed and installed in 1571. The French fountain engineer
. Although the music was discontinued in the 18th century, in 2003 the fountain was
with modern materials, and now music can be heard
is located directly under the
in the gardens. But this is not the original design. The first
in the 17th century, but after years of neglect, the fountain had to be
. The fountain we see today was redone in the 1930s by
, who kept the original cascading design, but adding the fountain’s powerful jets.
Another iconic fountain is
, which feature a wall of one hundred small fountains lining the walkway between the
. Why one hundred small fountains? These were meant to
built to bring water to Rome. These
that flows through these gardens.
, is one of the first fountains that visitors come across in the gardens. This large fountain includes not only the broad basin and the round fountain, but also the artificial mountains and the
at the top. The entire fountain and grotto took five years to complete, from 1565 to 1570, and has been a
is another well-known fountain in the gardens, located at the
. The original design for this fountain was to show the story of
stealing the golden apples from the
, with a dragon at its gate. But this design would never get past the designing stage. For the visit of
modified the design to have
at the base, a symbol for the pope’s family. Later, a
The Villa and apartments today
The villa itself, which includes the
. Each room describes the stories of a specific ancient figure, through
on the walls and ceilings.
in these rooms is particularly interesting because of its connection to the Villa and the d’Este family. Hercules, from ancient times, was said to be the
that includes the villa. The other reason to include Hercules into
claimed to be descended from the mythical hero.
A curious site found on the first floor of the apartments is an
located under the floor of the
. As late as 1983, while the flooring was being redone in these rooms, a room belonging to a
was discovered underneath, with its detailed
. Built above the Roman villa were parts of the