Garden Tour III - Tivoli Gardens

It's snowing. Many dear friends use this kind of weather as inspiration for browsing seed catalogues, making lists, drawing garden plans. I study historic gardens - and this year I'm fortunate to have some of my own photos to peruse. Last fall I got myself to Tivoli Gardens outside of Rome. For years amore mio and I visited this place and other wonderful gardens of the world thanks to Monty Don's garden series. He's a charming English garden expert who visits world-famous green places, con brio. He visited this little oasis in busy Venice. 

In the words of the UNESCO declaration, Tivoli gardens represent "the flowering of Renaissance culture." Did anyone intend that pun? But I would hasten to agree. The statement declares the Tivoli gardens "one of the earliest and finest of the 'giardini della meraviglie'" and I would concur. Here is me being overwhelmed by the 100 fountains. Here's the rest of the UNESCO statement. 

Oval Fountain

I have come upon the name d'Este often in my Italian history browsing. This Wikipedia article, although apologizing for its brevity, covers the bases. (Yes I donate, do you?) 

The Fish Ponds

The beyond sumptuous villa and estate were built by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, son of the Duke of Ferrara, archbishop of Milan at aged ten, and grandson of Pope Alexander VI. Ippolito's own designs on the papacy were cut short by the Reformation. Mixed feelings here - Ippoito was a massive patron of the arts, and creator of beauty (for himself and his peeps.)  His wealth and entitlement enrages me.

Fountain of the Big Glass

     Maybe I should just relax and look at the photos,         relive the day.

Fountain of Neptune

I thought I might drop this bit of video here; it's the Fountain of Neptune, well, fountaining.

Fountain of the Owl

Fountain of Persephone

Villa d'Este's Tivoli Gardens are famous for fountains. There are "51 fountains and nymphaeums, 398 spouts, 364 water jets, 64 waterfalls and 220 basins fed by 875 metres of canals, channels and cascades all working entirely by the force of gravity, without pumps." (Wikipedia counted)

The crowds gathered around this rather OTT creation had one thing in mind. Hope? Scepticism?

Here's a patient tourist trying to capture a moment.  This overdecorated pile is the Fontana dell'Organo, the Organ Fountain, begun 1566. It's a marvellous piece of Renaissance artistry and engineering. 

Somewhat on schedule, twice a day, this astonishing fountain produces some not bad late Renaissance music -all by air and water power, remember?  

I'm saving this  video visit posted to YouTube by Walkin' Around, to whom I subscribe. They show some of the villa interior, through which we passed on our guided rush to the gardens. 

Of course, I wanted equal time in the villa, but we were on our way back to Rome. (Who's to complain, really?)  I grabbed a few photos of painted ceilings and some intriguing Roman mosaics but will content myself with this photo of the Vialone, the long terrace between the villa and the gardens. Perhaps you detect a note of wistfulness?

And if I've left you wanting to learn more, here's a detailed Wikipedia entry.