Intro:
Travel with us to Tivoli, where the footsteps of the Emperors and the whispers of their subjects echo.
You will be picked up from your hotel at 9:00am. Earlier or later pick up times can be arranged upon your request.

Tivoli’s fresh and temperate climate made it very popular from ancient times on with Rome’s upper class population, many of whom built summer retreats in the area. Tivoli currently has a population of 50,000 inhabitants. The city spreads out much further than the enchanting historical center that most people envision when Tivoli is mentioned.
We will first visit the Villa Adriana, where the Emperor Hadrian had a countryside dwelling as large as most towns of the day. It is the most complete villa to have survived the fall of the Roman Empire.
Hadrian was born in 76 AD, and succeeded Trajan as emperor. The story of his succession is mysterious in itself. According to the historian Dio Cassius, Hadrian's accession was mainly accomplished through the actions of empress Plotina, who kept Trajan's death a secret for several days. During this time, she sent letters to the senate informing them that Hadrian was to be the new heir. Although the letters carried the empress’ own signature, she likely used the excuse that Trajan was too ill to write. Another rumor suggests that someone had been secretly smuggled into Trajan's chamber by the empress in order to impersonate his voice.
Only after the empress was sure of Hadrian’s accession did she announce Trajan’s death.
The Villa Adriana complex is enormous with several underground passages and tunnels. There are lakes, libraries, baths, temples, theaters, apartments and gardens. With such a colossal area, it’s easy to imagine that even Hadrian himself may have needed a guide.
The emperor supervised the building of the villa himself and included architectural elements of his travels. The gardens are glorious, and although most of the sculpture was removed from the site during renaissance excavation, enough remains for visitors to appreciate the magnificence of a Roman imperial garden.
We will then visit the nearby Villa d’Este. It has one of the most spectacular Italian gardens in the country, and is included in the UNESCO world heritage list. The villa was built in the 1550’s for Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, the son of Lucretia Borgia. With its concentration of unique and beautiful water features including fountains, grottoes, plays of water, nymphs and music, guests of the Cardinal were duly impressed and amazed.
The main focal point of the garden, the giant ‘Water Organ Fountain’, flows down a huge drop into lovely, shady pools of cool water.
From 1605, Cardinal Alessandro d'Este added his own touch not only to restore and repair the vegetation and the waterworks, but also to create new designs to the layout of the garden and to add to the decorations of the fountains.
With the onset of the First World War, the villa became a property of the Italian State. During the 1920s, it was restored and opened to the public. Another more complete restoration was carried out directly after the Second World War to repair the damage caused by the bombing of 1944.
You will enjoy lunch close to the Villa d’Este at a typical, Italian trattoria.

Please note
Please note that this tour is not offered on Mondays as the villas are closed to the public. *Would you like to make this tour less expensive for you? Consider pairing with other travelers and splitting the cost of 300 Euros. There are a few ways that may help you in finding others to join you. If you will visit the website http://rome-hotels.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g187791-i22-Rome_Lazio.html and go to their ‘forum’ section for the Rome forum, you can post a question with the dates that you would like to take the tour and see if any other travelers would like to split the cost. Click on this link to take you straight to the Tripadvisor Rome Forum. You must join to be able to post questions, membership to join is free. Alternatively, if you are taking this tour from the cruise port, Civitavecchia, you can visit the website www.cruisecritic.com. Join the website and then at the top of the page, you will see a link to ‘Boards’. Click this link, find your ship and the date that you are departing Civitavecchia, and then you may post a question to see if anyone would like to join you on a tour. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/ You will also find that you can gain valuable experience from other questions posted and answered, and you can even be in contact with other travelers on your same cruise. You will need to join their website in order to post a question. If eight of you take the tour, it is only 37.50 Euro per person! You will not find a better deal anywhere!