Tivoli Private Tours | Exclusive Villa D’Este, Hadrian’s Villa One Day Trip From Rome. Customized guided tours, including Tickets and Transfer
PRIVILEGED ENTRANCE. NO WAITING!
ROUTE ON FOOT, NO SHORTS, NO SLEEVELESS OUTFITS
TOUR AVAILABLE ONLY IN LIMOUSINE OR MINIVAN
TOUR SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN. Private tour of Tivoli – At Tivoli, see the huge quarries, where in antiquity, thousands of slaves and prisoners toiled in dangerous and brutal conditions to excavate large travertine lime-stone blocks used for constructing the Colosseum, the Theatre of Marcellus, numerous aqueducts and bridges, all still surviving in Rome today.
Proceed to the nearby Villa of Hadrian, erected between 118AD and 125AD, a fabulous imperial dwelling complex, quite probably designed by this highly sophisticated, intelligent, and art-loving sovereign, which sprawls over low valleys and slopes shaded by magnificent umbrella pines, olive trees and cypresses. The extraordinary variety of edifices and loose adaptations of prestigious monuments inspired Hadrian during his extensive voyages throughout the vast territories of the Roman Empire were partially unearthed in the Renaissance. Its buildings influenced many great architects like L.B. Alberti, Bramante, Michelangelo, and Raphael and later fascinated Bernini and Borromini in the baroque age.
Proceed to the nearby Villa of Hadrian, erected between 118AD and 125AD, a fabulous imperial dwelling complex, quite probably designed by this highly sophisticated, intelligent, and art-loving sovereign, which sprawls over low valleys and slopes shaded by magnificent umbrella pines, olive trees and cypresses.
The extraordinary variety of edifices and loose adaptations of prestigious monuments inspired Hadrian during his extensive voyages throughout the vast territories of the Roman Empire were partially unearthed in the Renaissance. Its buildings influenced many great architects like L.B. Alberti, Bramante, Michelangelo, and Raphael and later fascinated Bernini and Borromini in the baroque age.
Some 500 beautiful ancient Greek and Roman statues were dug out in the grounds and are now in the Vatican, Capitoline Museums, and other prestigious European Museums. During the Private tour of Tivoli, our expert but entertaining guide will unravel and show the grounds, bringing alive the imperial court’s daily life under Hadrian, a capable emperor who, though often indulged in dissolute and licentious activities. See the Maritime Theatre, Greek and Latin Libraries where the emperor enjoyed intellectual discussions in the company of philosophers, poets, and artists, the Throne Room, Imperial Palace Wings, Palaestra, Poikile, the Stadium, Greater and Smaller Roman Baths, and the famous Canopy Water-Canal surrounded by arcades and ancient statues where high visiting political dignitaries were entertained and which was named after a branch of the Nile river in which Antinous, an adored youthful companion, tragically drowned in mysterious circumstances.
The Private tour of Tivoli continued with the visit to Villa D’Este, a dream-like fairytale renaissance palace with gorgeously sculptured gardens which belonged to Cardinal Ippolito II, son of Lucrezia Borgia member of one of the most infamous families in the history of the papacy. Specifically created to console this cardinal after his unsuccessful attempt at being elected pope in the 1550 conclave.
In a Private tour of Tivoli, you will witness the opulent way of living of one of the wealthiest men of his time and stroll through the gardens filled with fountains of cascading gurgling waters, hundreds of hissing jets, a setting worthy of kings, popes, and princes who were regular guests of the cardinal’s splendid court. One of the
first Italian renaissance-style gardens was laid out by a great antiquarian, Pirro Ligorio, who retraced descriptions and documentation on the “Ars Topiaria” (landscape gardening) developed by the ancient Romans in republican and imperial times.
The ingenious hydraulic systems invented by Ligorio to funnel the vast volumes of water from Tivoli’s Aniene river to feed all fountains and to produce the intense pressures needed for the jets of water are astonishing today. Be enveloped by the fragrances, excellent sprays, and inebriating scents of the lush and relaxing vegetation and feel what it was like to live as a renaissance prince, and discover how Franz Liszt was bemused and stimulated into composing his “Fountains of Villa D’Este.” Search out the distant dome of St.Peter’s on the horizon before returning to Rome. End of Private tour of Tivoli.
The price per person may vary depending on the number of participants. All our tours and itineraries can be customized and organized for individuals and small or large groups. We can organize exclusive services for corporate events, anniversaries, or special occasions.