Villa d’Este
The cardinal’s terraced garden at Tivoli – the Renaissance water theatre with hundreds of fountains.
From 1560 Cardinal Ippolito d’Este had the garden laid out below his villa at Tivoli, to plans by the architect and antiquarian Pirro Ligorio. Water became the garden’s main material.
The avenue of a hundred fountains and the water organ were the technical marvels of the age. The garden became a model for Baroque gardens all over Europe.
Materials: Stone, water, box and cypress
Manufacture: Water was brought from the River Aniene and drove the fountains without pumps, by gravity alone.
Terraces and a strong central axis down the slope.
Fountains, cascades and an organ played by water power.
Antique sculptures and myths as a theme.