Villa d’Este, Part II

As lovely as the palazzo is, the real reason you come to Villa d’Este is the gardens, which contain magnificent fountains.  Ironically, when Laura visited some 30+ years ago, she arrived on the one day a year when the fountains were turned off for cleaning, so this time was a real treat (although when she visited all those years ago, they let her in for free given her student ID and the fact the fountains were not working).

Heading into the gardens

 

Fountains everywhere (the Fontana dell’Ovato)

 

And everywhere, the sound of water flowing (the Fontana di Rometta)

 

The magnificent walkway bordered by 100 fountains – unforgettable

 

A grotto surrounding a statue of the many-breasted goddess Diana (or Artemis) of Ephesus

 

The final masterpiece — the Fountain of Neptune below the Fountain of the Organ

 

At the end, we headed to the Fountain of the Organ. Amazingly, it uses water pressure to power an internal mechanism to produce music every two hours.

 

The Fountain of the Organ

 

Wow!

Today, however, we had missed the concert, so we will have to go back some day!

Looking down from the Fountain of the Organ

 

A beautiful way to spend a day, as the sun sets

Villa d’Este is a wonderful day trip from Rome. One caveat: we drove to Tivoli.  Please learn from our mistake and save yourself the marital argument, frustrations with the toll road machines, and an expensive ticket from having your stupid GPS take you into a restricted driving zone (look up the ZTL), and just take the train.

Published by spanishstepsapartment

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In the heart of Rome's Historic Center, between the beautiful Spanish Steps and the famous Trevi Fountain, this luxury two bedroom, two bathroom apartment is surrounded by fine dining and fabulous shopping. It is within walking distance of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and many other historic sites and museums, and near the subway, taxi stands, bus stops, and bike rental. Located in a traditional Roman palazzo, the apartment was fully renovated in late 2010 and is now available for vacation and short-term rental.