The Charming Town of Tivoli

If you are visiting Rome, don’t miss Tivoli. Only 30 kilometers away of the capital, Tivoli is part of the Lazio region. It is located on the hill and surrounded by the Roman countryside. During the Roman Imperial, Tivoli was a retirement village for the Maecenas and the Emperor Augustus itself. Then, at the Renaissance, the middle class and their families settled up, built enormous villas and gave to the city life and attraction. I would recommend staying two days to be able to get the most of Tivoli.

There is two part in Tivoli: the old and the newer area. The old part is definitely the nicest and more interesting one. First la Villa d’Este, listed in the UNESCO’s world heritage for its beautiful garden, fountains, water sculpture and the walls paintings. The villa was built in 1560, left for years, renovated, destroyed during the Second World War. Nowadays the villa has been cured and controlled by the Italian state and started to allow the entrance to the public. Close to the villa, there is a good “tavola calda” to eat something quick as pizzas, sandwiches and salads where you can accommodate yourself on the terrace.

Not far from Villa d’Este, the villa Gregoriana is nice to visit not for the architecture but for the walking path going through waterfalls, caves as the Grotta della Sirene (the Siren’s cave), the ruins of a Roman villa and the Napoleonic-era tunnel. The panoramic view is breathtaking and even more when you past the bridge “Ponte Gregoriano” that crosses the valley by the villa. The river Ariene going under the bridge, is getting into several little waterfalls covered by plants. From up there you have an amazing view of the gorge the temple and the 100 meters waterfall.This bridge before called Ponte San Rocco was made with wood upon the foundations of a previous stone structure. In 1808, the important flow destroyed the bridge that has been rebuilt, destroyed by the German troops in 1944 and then rebuilt again. 

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The modern part is not as pretty as the old city but you still have at the main square where a huge sculpture is, an incredible view of the vineyards and countryside.