Tivoli is a town in the hills about 20 miles from Rome.

It’s known for several of its attractions—Villa Adriana, Villa Gregoriana, and the most famous one of them all, Villa d’Este.

Ippolito d’Este was a cardinal who during the renaissance commissioned the construction of Villa d’Este and its garden. He was a son of Alfonso d’Este and Lucrezia Borgia, a daughter of Pope Alexander VI.

Ippolito d’Este was only 10 years old when he became the archbishop of Milan and he became a cardinal when he was 30. But he wanted more, he wanted to be a pope but even though there were three different conclaves he was never elected.

In 1550 he became the governor of Tivoli. As he was a passionate collector of antiquities, Tivoli, with Villa Adriana, a villa built by the Roman emperor Hadrian, was a perfect location to start excavations together with his friend Pirro Ligorio. What he didn’t like was the serious convent that was given to him as a residence and so for this reason he decided to transform this convent in a beautiful palace with an amazing garden.

Ippolito d’Este, who was originally building a palace in Rome but was stopped by Pope Pius V was known for saying “If I cannot build my castle in Rome then I will build Rome in my castle".

When in Villa D’Este, see The Hundred Fountains, Rometta Fountain, Fountain of the Organ, Fountain of Neptune and Fountain of the Owls.

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