Tivoli

Villa d'Este » No other garden has such spectacular waterworks and theatrical effects. The Ville d’Este is the most important example of a Mannerist garden and verges into the Baroque. Shunning the simplicity of early Tuscan gardens, this Roman ‘retreat’ was designed for the Estes. Cardinal Ippolito d’Este was as proud as he was rich. Visitors could enter by the garden gate at the lowest point of the garden. As they ascended the hill, the water marvels, and the story, unfolded: the garden tells of the family’s illustrious ancestors. They included Hercules and other heroes of antiquity. The garden has many references of Ovid’s Metamorphosis. If the baroque spectacle achiev..... Read more on Villa d'Este

Villa Aldobrandini » The best and most famous example of the early Italian Baroque style. Instead of standing on one edge, the palace is the centerpiece of the garden layout. It is theatrically set into a wooded hill and, like the other Frascati villas, casts an eye across the Campagnia to the dome of St Peters, Rome. Every aspect of the place is aristocratic. It was designed for a 'nephew' of a Pope - this is how the church described papal children until the twentieth century. Villa Aldobrandini occupies an imposing situation with a broad terrace dominating the town of Frascati. To the rear, there is a water theatre with niches for statues and fountains. A statue of Atlas holds a globe stands in the central nich..... Read more on Villa Aldobrandini

Villa Adriana (Hadrian's Villa) Garden » This is the most complete estate to have survived the fall of the Roman empire. It is a larger and grander version of the type of layout praised by Pliny the Younger. Though ruthless, Hadrian was a great emperor, an intellectual, a poet and a designer. His nickname 'Greekling' reflects his admiration for Greek culture. Hadrian was born in Spain, near Seville, and loved to have garden features representing places visited in his years as a military commander. He travelled more extensively than any of his precedessors. In Greece, he could see the villas made after Alexander the Great's conquest of the East. In Egypt he could admire the 'land of wonders'. His own villa was a lavish water garden. ..... Read more on Villa Adriana (Hadrian's Villa) Garden