The Villa d'Este

The Villa d’Este is located in Tivoli, Italy, and is an example of a Renaissance garden. The villa and garden were begun before 1540 by the Cardinal Bishop of Cordova, and then became the property of Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este when he was appointed Governor of Tivoli by Pope Julius III. The villa and garden were designed by architect Pirro Ligorio (1520 – 83), and built from 1550 – 1580. The villa and garden are built on a hill, and the design follows many of Leone Batista Alberti’s classical ideas about the site and layout of a garden. The garden is designed for the visitor to enter from the base; to ascend the slope, encountering delights along the way; and to arrive at the top of the hill to be surprised by the panoramic view of the Tivoli country side with long views to Rome.

Christopher Thacker, in The History of Gardens, writes that the garden’s prime feature is its exuberant use of water. A natural stream was diverted to flow from the top of the hill; and to power the water attractions as it descends, using pressure-based hydraulics. Attractions include the Ovato fountain; the terrace of the Hundred Fountains; the Organ fountain; the many-breasted Diana of the Ephesians fountain; water works that emit musical or animal sounds; and water features that surprise, squirt, or drench the unsuspecting visitor. Some of the hydraulics was based on writings in Pneumatica, by Hero of Alexandria.

Edith Wharton, in Italian Villas and Their Gardens (1904), describes the overall design: “…the gardens were meant to be, as it were, an organ on which the water played. The result is extraordinarily romantic and beautiful, and the versatility with which the stream is used, the varying effects won from it, bear witness to the imaginative feeling of the designer.” However, she further writes that the overall affect was tawdry and grotesque compared with other Renaissance examples. Even today, this extravagant use of water seems over-the-top; but it is important to keep in mind the historical importance – use of classical knowledge, science, and theater in the garden.