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not to be missed

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villa adriana the villa adriana at tivoli near rome is an exceptional complex of classical buildings created in the 2nd century a.d by the roman emperor hadrian.

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description villa adriana is a masterpiece that uniquely brings together the highest expressions of the material cultures of the ancient mediterranean world study its monuments played a crucial role in the rediscovery of the elements of classical architecture by the architects of the renaissance and the baroque period it also profoundly influenced many 19th and 20th-century architects and designers the villa covers more than 120 ha on the slopes of the tiburtine hills it was originally occupied by a late republican villa the property of hadrian s wife vibia sabina the imperial residence was built over it in ad 118-38 it was a symbol of a power that was gradually becoming absolute and which distanced itself from the capital after hadrian s death in 138 his successors preferred rome as their permanent residence but the villa continued to be enlarged and further embellished constantine the great is alleged to have removed some of its finer pieces to his new capital byzantium the villa was sacked and plundered by successive barbarian invaders and fell into neglect being used as a quarry by builders and lime-burners interest in the ruins was rekindled in the 15th century by pope pius ii aeneas silvius excavations to recover its glories were ordered by alexander vi at the beginning of the 16th century when cardinal ippolito ii d este began to construct his nearby villa d este he continued the excavations supervised by his architect pirro ligorio to obtain works of art to adorn it the many structures are arranged without any overall plan within this area they fall into four specific groups the first group includes the greek theatre and the temple of aphrodite cnidi the theatre which is in a good state of conservation although only fragmentary is of conventional design its cavea is cut into the hillside and is some 36 m in diameter the small circular temple is situated in a large semi-circular exedra the second group including the maritime theatre court of the libraries latin and greek libraries imperial palace and golden square is the core of the complex aligned with the vale of tempe the various elements are grouped round four peristyles the maritime or naval theatre is a circular structure 43 m in diameter the ionic marble peristyle encloses a circular moat surrounding a central island with a miniature villa the court of the libraries the oldest part of the ensemble is a colonnaded portico with a nymphaeum on its northern side the two libraries are reached by passages on either side of the nymphaeum the palace consists of a complex of rooms around a courtyard the golden square is one of the most impressive buildings in the complex the vast peristyle is surrounded by a two-aisled portico with alternate columns in cipollino marble and egyptian granite

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the third group comprises the pecile stadium and its associated buildings small and large thermae canopus serapeum and cento camerelle the pecile or poikile is a reproduction of an imposing structure in athens famous for its paintings and its associations with the stoic philosophers which consists of a large rectangular enclosure part of its massive walls survives they had colonnades on either side in the centre was a rectangular pool enclosed by a free space perhaps used as a racetrack the two sets of baths are conventional in form the smaller is considered to have been used exclusively by women the canopus is an elongated canal imitating the famous sanctuary of serapis near alexandria the semi-circular exedra of the serapeum is located at its southern end the fourth group includes the lily pond roccabruna tower and academy the tower is a complex of buildings the purpose of which is not clearly established in addition to these structures there is a complex of underground elements including cryptoportici and underground galleries used for internal communications and storage a number of the ancient structures are overlaid by a series of farmhouses and other buildings mostly from the 18th century they were built directly on the earlier foundations and it is difficult to dissociate them from the ancient structures.

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villa d este the villa d este in tivoli with its palace and garden is one of the most remarkable and comprehensive illustrations of renaissance culture at its most refined.

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description the gardens of the villa d este had a profound influence on the development of garden design throughout europe they are among the earliest and finest of the giardini delle meraviglie and symbolize the flowering of renaissance culture on 9 september 1550 cardinal ippolito ii d este 1509-72 arrived in tivoli having obtained the post of governor of the town the official residence assigned to him in tivoli part of the monastery of the church of santa maria maggiore did not suit him he therefore decided to build a splendid villa with gardens the design of which is traditionally attributed to pirro ligorio 1500-83 the ensemble composed of the palace and gardens forms an uneven quadrilateral and covers an area of about 4.5 ha the plan of the villa is irregular because the architect was obliged to make use of certain parts of the previous monastic building on the garden side the architecture of the palace is very simple a long main body of three storeys marked by bands rows of windows and side pavilions that barely jut out this uniform facade is interrupted by an elegant loggia in the middle with two levels and stair ramps built by raffaello da firenze and biasioto 1566-67 the lower level is decorated with the fountain of leda the main rooms of the villa are arranged in rows on two floors and open on to the garden the private apartment of the cardinal consisting of four rooms is on the same level as the courtyard and the reception rooms linked together at the back by a long corridor called the manica lunga are on the lower level the villa d este garden stretches over two steep slopes descending from the palace down to a flat terrace in the manner of an amphitheatre the loggia of the palace marks the longitudinal and central axis of the garden five main transversal axes become the central axis from the fixed point of view created by the villa as each of these axes terminates in one of the main garden fountains even though the central aisle stops beyond the axis of the hundred fountains to give way to a network of diagonal paths that make it easier to climb back to the palace the latter remains the main visual axis the first main transversal axis bordering the flat part of the garden the peschiere is composed of a row of three basins at the extreme east of this water chain is the fontana dell organo it is rectangular in shape with two orders crowned by a double-scrolled pediment the water organ the work of claude vénard was inspired by examples from antiquity the interaction between water and air produced [cl something missing]beyond the peschiere two staircases start climbing towards the villa the side stairs the scalinata dei bollori of 1567 are

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flanked by two stepped parapets crowned with basins pouring out torrents of water beyond the transversal path of the dragons the central stairway is divided into oval flights around the fontana dei draghi this nymphaeum and its exedra is the real centre of the ensemble four winged dragons emerge from the middle of the large oval basin spurting out jets of water the parapet is ornamented with vases from which water also flows the alley of the hundred fountains is formed of three long superposed basins its water crossing the entire garden however the most striking effect is produced by the big cascade flowing out of a krater perched in the middle of the exedra jets of water were activated whenever unsuspecting people walked under the arcades behind the exedra rises an artificial mountain with three alcoves holding statues of the sibylla of tibur with her son melicerte 1568 and the river divinities erculaneo and anio to the west is its counterpart the fountain of rome rometta built in 1567-70 the fontana del bicchierone fountain of the great glass built according to a design by bernini 1660-61 was added to the decoration of the central longitudinal axis in the 17th century this fountain is in the shape of a serrated chalice from which a high jet of water falls into a conch shell during this period the large pergola at the original entrance to the villa was also replaced by the rotunda of the cypresses c 1640 a circular area adorned with four small fountains and surrounded by ancient cypress trees.

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le catacombe di roma the catacombs of rome the first large-scale catacombs were excavated from the 2nd century onwards originally they were carved through tufo a soft volcanic rock outside the boundaries of the city because roman law forbade burial places within city limits hereinafter are mentioned the 3 sites catacombs of the most known and visited the catacombs of saint callixtus the catacombs of saint sebastian and the catacombs of domitilla

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the catacombs of saint callixtus via appia antica sited along the appian way these catacombs were built after ad 150 with some private christian hypogea and a funeral area directly dependent on the catholic church it takes its name from the deacon saint callixtus proposed by pope zephyrinus in the administration of the same cemetery on his accession as pope he enlarged the complex that quite soon became the official one for the roman church the arcades where more than fifty martyrs and sixteen pontiffs are buried form part of a complex graveyard that occupies fifteen hectares and is almost twenty km long this catacomb s most ancient parts are the crypt of lucina the region of the popes and the region of saint cecilia where some of the most sacred memories of the place are preserved including the crypt of the popes the crypt of saint cecilia and the crypt of the sacraments the other regions are named the region of saint gaius and the region of saint eusebius end of the 3rd century west region built in the first half of the 4th century and the liberian region second half of the 4th century all showing grandiose underground architecture a modern staircase on the site of an ancient one was built by pope damasus i giving access to the region of the popes in which is to be found the crypt of the popes where nine pontiffs and perhaps eight representatives of the ecclesiastical hierarchy had been buried along its walls are the original greek inscriptions for the pontiffs pontian anterus fabian lucius i and eutychian in the far wall pope sixtus ii was also buried after he was killed during the persecution of valerian in front of his tomb pope damasus had carved an inscription in poetic metre in characters thought up by the calligrapher furius dionisius filocalus in the adjoining crypt is the grave of saint cecilia whose relics were removed by pope paschal i in 821 the early 9th century frescoes on the walls represent saint cecilia praying the bust of the redeemer and pope urban i a short distance away an arcade dating to the end of the 2nd century gives access to the cubicula of the sacraments with their frescoes from the first half of the 3rd century hinting at baptism the eucharist and the resurrection of the flesh in the region of saint militiades next door a child s sarcophagus has a front sculpted with biblical episodes in the region of saints gaius and eusebius are some crypts set apart opposite each other with the tombs of pope gaius with an inscription and pope eusebius who died in sicily where he had been exiled by maxentius and whose body was

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translated to rome during the pontificate of militiades on a marble copy of the end of the 4th century of which fragments may be seen on the opposite wall may be read of an inscription by damasus on the schism provoked by heraclius over the matter of the lapsi joining onto the arcade itself are in succession the crypt of the martyrs calogerus and parthenius and the double cubiculum of severus which contains a rhythmic inscription dated to no later than 304 in which a bishop of rome at that time marcellinus is first called pope and first openly professes belief in the final resurrection in a region further from there is the burial of pope cornelius whose tomb still has its original inscription giving him the title of martyr and on its sides splendid paintings with figures in 7th and 8th century byzantine style representing popes sixtus ii and cornelius and the african bishops cyprian and ottatus in a nearby cubiculum are some of the most ancient burials after ad 175 with roman frescoes of on the ceiling the good shepherd and orantes and on the far wall two fish with a basket of loaves behind it a symbol of the eucharist.

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the catacombs of saint sebastian via appia antica this cemetery named after the martyr st sebastian who is buried here was originally called ad catacumbas according to the widely acknowledged explanation the name signifies near the hollows because of the mines of tuff located in this area the name was later used generally to indicate all subterranean christian cemeteries another ancient name of the cemetery was apostolic memorial memoria apostolorum the name derives from the liturgical celebrations dedicated to the apostles peter and paul which took place here for a limited period in the first centuries from the first century the site had been intensely exploited and constructed upon the caves and the tunnels of the mines were used for pagan and christian rectangular wall tombs loculi as well smaller tombs colombari used to house urns at least two residential buildings were constructed above ground especially noted for their interior wall painting decorations around the middle of the second century a cave-in occurred and in the square which was constructed above ground three mausoleums were built respectively belonging to clodius hermes the innocentores and sub ascia later this area was again covered over and a portico enclosed by a wall triclia was built along the wall hundreds of graffiti writings dedicated to peter and paul have been deciphered around the year 258 the religious celebrations commemorating the two apostles were transferred to the site and the emperor constantine 306-337 had a grandisose circiform basilica constructed in the honour of the apostles meanwhile the catacomb had been developing underground from the third century as it is well known from archeological and literary sources the martyrs sebastian and eutychius were buried here.

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the catacombs of domitilla via delle sette chiede 282 the catacomb of domitilla with its 15 km of subterranean galleries is not only the largest catacomb of rome it also provides an extensive insight into all phases and phenomena of an early-christian necropolis large impressive the best preserved and one of the most extensive the domitilla catacombs are unique in that they are the only ones still containing bones included in their passages are a 2nd-century fresco of the last supper and other valuable artifacts they are the only catacombs that have a subterranean basilica the subterranean basilica was the centre of a pilgrimage sanctuary with the graves of the martyrs nereus and achilleus up until the middle ages with about 80 painted tombs the domitillacatacomb also comprises one of the largest inventories of catacomb painting in the beginning of 2009 at the request of the vatican divine word missionaries assumed responsibility as administrator of st domitilla catacombs

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