Tour Details
Duration
7 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
- Villa d'Este
- Hadrian's Villa
Photos & Highlights
- Travel back in time to Hadrian's Villa, circa 2nd century AD, amongst other landmarks of this rich and famous countryside
- Led by an art historian or archaeologist
Select a date
Tour Description
Tivoli has been Rome's retreat for the rich and famous ever since thermal waters were discovered in the hills east of the city in the first century BC. Set atop a mountain overlooking the Roman countryside, the picturesque town of Tivoli is a mix of both modern and medieval. Today, two of Tivoli's major sites—the ancient villa of Emperor Hadrian and the Renaissance garden of Cardinal d'Este—provide the setting for one of Context's most evocative tours. This unique, full-day Tivoli tour takes us beyond the city center on a day trip from Rome to experience the history of the Apennine Mountains.
Experts
We begin by taking an hour-long private car ride to Tivoli. As the car winds along the foothills of the Apennine Mountains, our guide, an art historian or archaeologist, will discuss the historical context of this area: the discovery of thermal springs and the construction of therapeutic baths in the first century B.C., as well as the exploitation of the travertine limestone veins that would eventually provide most of the travertine for the city. We will then arrive at Hadrian's Villa, the palace and retreat of Emperor Hadrian, constructed in the second century AD at the height of ancient Rome's powers.
The History of Hadrian
Hadrian's Villa is fundamental to understanding Roman antiquity, architecture, and the watershed reign of Hadrian. One could spend days here, but in the company of our guide we will dissect the site in about two hours, visiting some key parts in order to re-imagine what this 300-acre structure once looked like and—more importantly—how it affected the construction of villas for the next two thousand years.
The Gardens of the Villa d'Este
Our next stop is the 16th century mansion of the exiled Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, where we will be taken by our private car service after exiting Hadrian's Villa. After we have lunch in the center of Tivoli, we will descend into the gardens of Villa d'Este. After much restoration, it serves as one of the best preserved garden complexes of the Renaissance. With its numerous and magnificent fountain features, the Villa d'Este is famous in all of Italy for its lavish presentation of that most prestigious resource: water.
As we make our way through the garden rooms, we will make connections between d'Este and Hadrian's Villa. Some of these will be conceptual—the use of water as an architectural material, for example. Others are quite physical—much of the building material in the garden, for example, was pilfered from the ancient villa. We will conclude our day by taking a stroll through the wonderfully intact medieval core of Tivoli, and return to Rome.
This Tivoli tour from Rome includes a car service that will pick you up at your accommodation. Please tell us your hotel or apartment address in the 'Additional Details' box when adding the tour to your shopping cart.
What are skip-the-line tickets? For this tour, your tickets are pre-purchased which allows you to skip the ticket office line upon arrival at Tivoli. You may still have to wait in a security line or in a line to have your pre-purchased ticket scanned.
Is lunch included? There will be time for lunch but it is not included in the tour price.
Is this tour mobility friendly? Neither of the sites are suitable for people with mobility problems. There is a large amount of hilly terrain covered at both sites on this excursion. The entrance of Hadrian’s Villa from the ticket barrier is a steep walk and the site is overall extremely uneven with lots of steps. Villa d’Este is pretty much vertical and a half hour giro is very limited. We do not recomend this tour for people with mobility concerns.
Is this tour good for families kids? This walk is not a part of our official family program. That said, we may be able to arrange a visit with a family-friendly expert.
Is this tour good for families kids? This walk is not a part of our official family program. That said, we may be able to arrange a visit with a family-friendly expert.
–
92 Reviews
Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.
Actually, a 6 for this trip and docent is not nearly high enough. Really, What a day! Here words fail me. Diane Archibald is a marvel all alone. Her experience, knowledge, interest and kindness were appreciated by all of us. We saw so much and she gave of herself to enhance our time. We could easily have stayed longer at each site.
After reading about the challenge of getting to the sites on our own, I was so happy to sign on for a guided trip and a private car. The professional driver and car service were perfect. This made an elegant trip just that much more so.
Mary
Reviewed on:
Oct 30, 2015
I can't tell if my rating of "6, exceptional" was recorded above. Both the Tivoli sights and Diane Archibald were amazing! Diane Archibald, is an EXPERT on Hadrian and the relationship between ancient Roman architecture and the Renaissance, and thus was a vast reservoir of information. She encouraged questions and carefully provided us with answers. I also loved that she wasn't afraid to say when she didn't know the answer (which was rare)! She took the time to learn about each person's interest and pointed out things that she thought might be of particular interest to us. It was great to start with Hadrian's Villa because, through Diane's guidance, that experience helped us to better understand the relationship between the two locations. The car service provided was terrific and comfortable, and the meet-up location was easy to find. The only change I would make is to expand the tour to 8 hours. Between the distance between Rome and Tivoli, a lunch break, and the size of the 2 sites, all of the 4 participants agreed that an additional hour would have been appreciated. Thanks again for such a wonderful tour. Your docents clearly love what they do!
Ellen
Reviewed on:
Oct 30, 2015
Diane was an exceptional guide for our visit to Hadrian's Villa and the Villa D'Este. We loved having the opportunity to learn from an academic whose specialty is actually Hadrian's Villa. Diane was so knowledgeable, so enthusiastic, and so good at giving us a lot of information without overwhelming us. She made our entire ten-day trip come together historically, architecturally, and archaeologically. Our only wish was was for more time. We truly couldn't have asked for more. Please convey our thanks!
Amy
Reviewed on:
Jun 25, 2015
