SPQR Fellowship

Wow! That expression alone is basically all that is needed to sum up my day in Tivoli! I had been waiting so long to see Hadrian’s Villa, and I was very excited to make the day trip from Rome to see it’s splendor. Each of my guidebooks recommended going to Villa d’Este as well, and though I didn’t know much about it, I went there as after Hadrian’s Villa. It was a wonderful surprise!

To get to Tivoli I had to ride one of the metro lines until one stop from the end, then take an hour bus ride. Once in Tivoli, it was another bus ride and walk to get to Hadrian’s Villa. After almost three hours total, I finally arrived in Villa Adriana (Hadrian’s Villa)!

I rented an audio guide and had a map to guide me through the space, but the experience was one of discovery through the ruins. Floor remnants, broken columns, entire walls, and much more enveloped me as I wound my way through the expansive villa.

Learning about something in a textbook and seeing it in real life are so different. It was almost magical as I walked the ruins and thought about Hadrian walking the same paths and entering the same buildings that I was. It didn’t quite seem real.

Toward the end of the tour there was one ruin that was a little farther out. I was trying to go quickly so that I would have enough time to explore Villa d’Este, so I thought about skipping it, but I’m sure glad I didn’t. This was a lookout (scholars still debate is exact use, perhaps a place for Hadrian to view Rome, possibly an observatory, etc.), and when I got to the top, all I could do was say “Wow!” It was an incredible view. Poppies and other wildflowers painted the fields to my left, Rome was in front of me, and Tivoli sat in the mountains to the right. It was incredible. What was also so unique about it was that it was a large, open space, and I had it all to myself. The other panoramic views I have experienced from bell towers, cupolas, etc. are all small spaces, only about a meter wide, and they are crowded to the max with people. This was the total opposite, and the experience was stunning!

Villa d’Este was the palace of Pope Alexander VI’s grandson, and its splendor comes from the hundreds of fountains in the gardens. There is incredible as well, with each of the walls in almost every room covered with beautiful paintings and frescos. The pictures I had seen of the fountains were intriguing, so I went to the gardens first. The fountains were astonishing! They were all powered from the Aniene River, which is interrupted to power the fountains, and then forms again after the villa. As I strolled through the gardens and fountains, the sound of rushing water was interspersed with quiet breezes and birds chirping. Beautifully manicured lawns, shrubs, and flowers framed ramps and stairs leading to other parts of the gardens and palace. Views of the mountains and town of Tivoli provided the perfect backdrop. It was an extraordinarily beautiful visit and entire day!

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