Commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, appointed Civil Governor of the city of Tivoli by Pope Julius III, who wanted to compensate him in this way after defeating him in the papal election, the Villa was designed by the Neapolitan Pirro Ligorio: he entrusted the restoration of the Benedictine convent to the architect Galvani, keeping for himself the creation of the magnificent garden.
After the Cardinal’s death, the Villa passed into the hands of the relatives, Alessandro and Luigi, then to the Habsburgs, relatives of Maria Beatrice, the last Este: its condition was visibly deteriorating when it was partially saved by Cardinal de Hohenlohe, who revived its splendor, also hosting the famous Franz Liszt.
In 1919, under the Treaty of St. Germain, the Italian State became its owner. The work carried out by Ligorio was truly remarkable: he had to overcome many practical problems and began by creating the high garden embankment, using the old city walls as buttresses. He dug a 600 m long tunnel beneath the city of Tivoli that channeled an incredible amount of water from the Aniene basin to the tank above the Oval Fountain, diverted the water from the Rivelese spring to the Villa’s cisterns, and precisely calculated the amount of water needed to operate all the water features he had in mind, using only the principle of communicating vessels.
He also collaborated with skilled hydraulics experts such as Giacomo della Porta and Claude Venard, who built the hydraulic organ. But what impresses even more are the numbers: a total of 35,000 sqm of gardens, 250 jets, 60 water sources, 255 waterfalls, 100 pools, 50 fountains, 20 exedras and terraces, 300 sluice gates, 30,000 plants rotated seasonally, 150 centuries-old tall trees, 15,000 ornamental perennial plants and trees, 9,000 sqm of avenues, paths, and ramps.
Villa d’Este in Tivoli Opening Hours
January 8:30-16:00 17:00
February 8:30-16:30 17:30
March 8:30-17:15 18:15
April 8:30-18:30 19:30
May 8:30-18:45 19:45
June 8:30-18:45 19:45
July 8:30-18:45 19:45
August 8:30-18:45 19:45
September 8:30-18:15 19:15
October 8:30-17:30 18:30
November 8:30-16:00 17:00
December 8:30-16:00 17:00
