Tivoli!

This weekend we traveled to Tivoli. It is just outside of Rome and the location of Hadrian’s Villa and Villa D’Este. We traveled with a large group and had a lot of fun exploring the ruins of Hadrian’s Villa and the beautiful gardens and fountains of Villa D’Este.

Our travel began at 6:00am. We awoke in search of an ATM, needing money for our trip. We got ready and left to find one near-by campus. Unfortunately, we could not find one. The one we have gone to before was farther down the huge hill we live on. We didn’t have time to make it down that far so, cold and exhausted, we traveled back up the hill. At campus we met the group and left at 7:30. We stood on the bus down our hill. Next we got on a train, then another. Then to another bus. Luckily we got a seat on this 45 minute ride to Tivoli. Then we walked for a long time. A good 5 hours or so. Then we were back on the bus to Rome. This time, no seats and tons of traffic. It took over an hour and we were standing and very cramped. Our legs felt like Jello after. Then we were back in the city and just took the train and bus home. We were very tired though.

We didn’t get back until about 6:30. We ate dinner and then passed out. The twelve hour day really took it out of us. But it was well worth it!

Some information on both sites: Hadrian, an emperor of Rome, built his Villa as an escape from the Roman center city. The walls enclose 300 acres of land and include numerous constructions used for different purposes (baths, bedrooms, theaters, temples, etc.). Apparently (from his poetry), Hadrian engaged in bathing
little boys at his luxurious villa. By our modern standards, that is overwhelmingly disgusting and of course, illegal. Aye. Anyway, today the ruins remain, but some of the original tile flooring and much of some buildings has been well preserved. In comparison to ruins in the city of Rome, these seemed to be better preserved; some fish ponds and fountains are still kept filled with water. Ellen was afraid some of the ruins might just fall on her. She’s basically crazy but I could see why she would think it. The ruins appear to be so fragile and barely hanging on by a string. She survived as did I nonetheless. So, the Villa is also surrounded by a forest, which we enjoyed. It must have been a very relaxing get-away spot.

Villa D’Este was the mansion and garden of the Bishop and Governor of Tivoli. The garden was filled with fountains still in use and was amazing. The inside of the house was also nice, but not as interesting. This area dated back to the 1500s. The largest fountain apparently took about 50 years to construct! The view was great and the gardens were very beautiful.

Enjoy the pictures!