In one day we visited the Sanctuary of Fortuna in Palestrina, the Villa d’Este in Tivoli and the Villa Adriana. All sites were within a two hour reach from the heart of Rome.
By far, I found the Villa d’Este to be the most impressive, especially its gardens. Although our bus drove more than two hours to get to Tivoli, we didn’t actually visit the villa because of time constraint. However, the gardens were some of the nicest I had ever seen. Although in its plan, the garden design looks rather symmetrical and broken down into similar lots, the experience is entirely different. The sloping of the steep terrain on one corner creates very different conditions in different areas. In some areas, outdoor spaces are close by walls. These spaces focus on elaborate waterfalls and the noise of water echoes within the spaces. Water is really everywhere in the gardens and often accompanies you along the pathways via little canals.
The area is very grown in with tall ancient trees. Although the gardens are very organized and impeccably kept, it feels very wild at the same time due to the vegetation appearing as monumental as the statues and villa. The huge villa sits atop of the gardens but is rarely visible from the gardens below. From the villa’s terraces above, you would think you are overlooking a jungle until you get a glimpse of the geometric pathways and monumental fountains that lay beneath the canopy. The photos below do not do this place justice.
The Sanctuary of Fortuna and the Villa Adriana were very interesting and amazing in their own respects. However, at the end of the day, it was the layout of a villa’s garden that stole the show- for me at least.
