| Tivoli is short drive into the hills east of Rome, where natural springs attracted the Romans to build baths and where Hadrian built his expansive villa. The main attraction is a smaller villa, the Villa d'Este, whose terraced water gardens are a UNESCO world heritage site. A pinnacle of High Renaissance garden design, Villa D'Este tumbles down the hillside near the center of the town. The sounds of rushing, splashing, spraying water fill the air, muffling the birdsong, as first one fountain, then another, comes into view. |