The ancient city of Tivoli is located only about 20 miles from Rome and is a popular tourist destination, especially for those who want to visit somewhere slightly further afield from the sights of the Italian capital. The city was already a Roman establishment way back in 338BC, and was well known for its beauty and good water and became popular as a resort for rich Romans.

There are no less than two UNESCO World Heritage sites in the city and our Tivoli Villas Tour is an enjoyable way of visiting them. As the name of the tour suggests, we will be visiting two villas, the Roman Villa Adriana and the Renaissance Villa d’Este.

Villa Adriana was a gigantic complex initiated and used by Emperor Hadrian as his countryside retreat. In fact it was as large as many towns of the day with an area of about 250 acres and comprising of several palaces, thermae, temples, libraries, state rooms, slave quarters and even a theatre. Underground, there is an extensive network of tunnels, which were mainly used for the transportation of both servants and goods from one area of the complex to the other. Due to its enormity, Hadrian himself probably needed to have a guide himself to get around the villa!

Villa d’Este is also a UNSECO site, but being of Renaissance architecture, it is not as old as Villa Adriana and dates back “only” to the late 1500s. The villa was originally commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, grandson of Pope Alexander VI and has undergone many improvements throughout the years. The villa is most famous for its beautiful gardens and water features, which later had an enormous influence on landscape design throughout Europe and beyond.

After the tour you can enjoy a typical meal in the trattoria near to the villa, before we continue our jorney back to Rome.

Tour Highlights
Villa Adriana :: Villa d’Este
Pick up time: approximately 9.00am
Full tour details can be found here: http://www.stefanorometours.com/tours/tivolivillas/