The Renaissance gardens οf the Villa d’Este in Rome, Italy
Just thirty kilometres from Rome lies Tivoli, poised high in the cool hills and commanding a sweeping panorama of the countryside. Here, a cascading waterfall — one that has mesmerised countless artists — descends beneath the circular Temple of the goddess Vesta that crowns the peak. This is no imagined Arcadia, but a living landscape that has imprinted itself upon our collective memory as the quintessential vision of the Roman countryside.
The terraced gardens of the Villa d’Este, Tivoli
Within this idyllic setting, a second marvel was fashioned — not by nature, but by human genius. This is the Villa d'Este, whose gardens are widely regarded as the most beautiful in Europe: a hymn to Beauty as it was conceived during the Renaissance. Here, a once wild and unruly slope was transformed into a place of incomparable enchantment.
Wherever the eye wanders, fountains, waterfalls, and frolicking nymphs of every size and aspect delight in studied symmetry. The gentle murmur of water alters at each fountainhead and spout, creating a subtle symphony of ever-changing sound. Verdant foliage, soaring cypress trees, and ornate staircases cascading across multiple levels form an ode to Geometry as much as to Nature itself. This was the Renaissance: the epoch that redefined mankind’s relationship with the natural world. Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, who made his home here, stood as both its patron and its prince.
The Oval Fountain, Villa d’Este, Tivoli
In former times, guests approached the villa from an entrance at the foot of the hill, unlike today, when visitors enter from the ancient Roman road that once led towards Tivoli. The villa was conceived to be admired from below. Ascending the central axis on foot, in light carriages, or even in sedan chairs borne by servants — portantine — guests would discover at every step a new marvel within these jardins des merveilles, as they were known, whose designs circulated throughout Europe. Beneath the shade of trees, they watched the waters dance into a thousand forms — fans, lilies, umbrellas — while shafts of sunlight pierced the countless droplets to create fleeting rainbows.
The Neptune Fountain and Water Organ, Villa d’Este, Tivoli
Each fountain invited repose and quiet contemplation along the ascent to the palace. One might climb by diagonal ramps or semicircular staircases, their balustrades threaded with slender streams fed by lilliputian cascades. At last, guests reached the grand landing at the summit. According to the villa’s carefully conceived design, it was here that the eye, having feasted upon the enchantments of the gardens, would turn outward to the vast panorama of the Roman countryside. On a crystalline day, even the dome of St Peter’s in Rome might be glimpsed in the distance.
I return often to the Villa d’Este, preferring to wander its gardens in the early morning, before other visitors arrive. As I make the ascent, I am simply another pair of eyes, captivated by the Renaissance vision. In those moments, the rest of the world falls away.
The Fountain Room (Sala della Fontana), Villa d’Este, Tivoli
Upon entering the villa, the primacy of water reveals itself anew. Exquisite wall fountains, framed in mosaics and shells, adorn the reception halls. Frescoes depict heroes and gods, mythological scenes, hunts, gardens, and pastoral landscapes, all theatrically arranged within decorative motifs characteristic of the age. In this refined and cultivated milieu lived the Cardinal and his two hundred and fifty courtiers, surrounded by the foremost poets, musicians, and scholars of their time.
The Hall of Glory (Sala della Gloria), Villa d’Este, Tivoli
A great patron of his age, he did not hesitate to expend the extraordinary sum of one million scudi in the creation of this masterpiece. Its renown has long transcended the centuries, and its architecture and scope became the prototype that would inspire the royal gardens of Europe for generations to come.
My long sojourn in Rome is recounted in the book: Feeling Rome