Villa d'Este, Italy

   Just outside Rome, in the hills overlooking the city and the sea, is the town of Tivoli. In the heat of summer, Romans have been heading for these hills to cool off from the heat of the city for centuries. Here you can find the ruins of Hadrian's Villa as well as the splendid Villa d'Este. Villa d'Este is one of Italy's most famous gardens with good reason. The setting atop a steep hill allows for incredible views and many dramatic water features. I don't think I have ever been to a garden with as many grottoes. You can tell many of the areas were designed to create a cool atmosphere and escape the summer heat, as some of the grottoes had to be at least ten degrees cooler. Unlike many gardens that are a showcase for plants, the garden is a showcase for a brilliant layout and use of water in the landscape.

View of the fish filled pools on the lower level of the gardens.

waterfalls at Villa d'Este

Grotto wall with ferns, fountains, eagle statues and a bench at Villa d'Este.

The grotto / fountain wall and bench.

fountain with a boat, behind it a statue of the wolf with Romulus and Remus, symbol of Rome 

One of many grotto alcoves emitting cool air.

detail of the mosaic around a grotto

Side garden with a pegasus statue.

One of the upper patios close to the villa surrounded by rose bushes.

An upper level fountain at Villa d'Este.

A view of the estate from down in the garden.

One of the incredibly large and old cypress trees.

A lovely cool shaded arbor of wisteria to rest under.

Close up of the benches, mosaic floor and cool scalloped wall under the arbor.

A close up of this famous sculpture at Villa d'Este of a fertility goddess.  You can see she has a tower on her head and many little lions crawling around on her.