Rome, May 2015, Villa d'Este (31)A
Italy – Villa d’Este
The Villa d’Este is a 16th century building in Tivoli, near Rome. It was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este (1509-1572). Because of his great influence and connections he wanted passionately to become Pope and in spite of his 5 attempts he was unsuccessful.
Construction began in 1560. In that time till 1569 many demolitions took place, private houses, public buildings and roads. Although there was much hue and cry, he was to powerful a man to let anything step into his path. A lot of material (marble and statues) came from other excavations in the area, such as the Villa Hadriana. The river Aniene was diverted to make a comples system of water jets, pools and cascades. Out of this intense construction rose terraces, arcades, grottos and other architectural structures. Canals were dug out and over 600 foot of pipework were laid. This was needed to feed the extensive number of fountains that were to be installed.
The garden was carefully laid out into to compartments, each to be close to 100 foot across. Its final effect is awesome and to stand on the terrace and view the whole garden is a breadth taking experience.
The Cardinal was also the Governor of Tivoli and had a property that went with the title. This was too small for his occupation so it was demolished and a new one was built on the site. The plans for the construction were left to the control of Alberto Galvani, court architect of the Este. He in turn obtained the services of Livio Agresti for the internal decoration and between 1565 and 1566 a team of artists under the direction of Girolamo Muziano and Frederico Zuccari began the incredible task of painting the villa. From 1867–1872 there were many teams of painters, sculptors and stucco artisans, as well as ceramists, mosaic artist and fountain engineers. Work was not nearly as fast as the Cardinal would have liked but he had many financial difficulties after losing some of his ecclesiastical positions in France. There was much to do, in 1872 the top floors of the villa were redecorated and there was an urgency to complete the construction of the Dragon Fountain, the reason for the speed to complete this part was the visit of Pope Gregory XIII. However in December the Cardinal died and the property passed on to his nephew Cardinal Luiggi. Although construction carried on, it was on a much smaller scale, the maintenance costs being much higher than the new Cardinal imagined. Cardinal Luiggi died in 1586 and the Villa was then owned by the Cardinal Deacons of the Sacred College by 1599 it was passed back to the Este family, this time with Cardinal Alessandro who carried out major restoration work to both Villa and Gardens.
This concludes the early part of the Villa’s history, there is much more to tell but if you are interested please go to Wikipedia for the rest of the story.
Items of interest to see:
1: The Hall of the Stories of Solomon.
2: The Fountain of Venus.
3: The Salon.
4: Ippolito’s Bedroom.
5: The Hall of Glory.
6: The Hall of Noah.
7: One Hundred Fountains.
8: The Fountain of Neptune.
9: The Oval Fountain or ‘Fontana dell’Ovato’.
10: The Fountain of the Tripod.
These are the many delights that can be seen in Villa d’Este, a fantastic and memorable place to visit and there is so much more that can be said and seen.
Rome, May 2015, Villa d'Este (31)A
Italy – Villa d’Este
The Villa d’Este is a 16th century building in Tivoli, near Rome. It was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este (1509-1572). Because of his great influence and connections he wanted passionately to become Pope and in spite of his 5 attempts he was unsuccessful.
Construction began in 1560. In that time till 1569 many demolitions took place, private houses, public buildings and roads. Although there was much hue and cry, he was to powerful a man to let anything step into his path. A lot of material (marble and statues) came from other excavations in the area, such as the Villa Hadriana. The river Aniene was diverted to make a comples system of water jets, pools and cascades. Out of this intense construction rose terraces, arcades, grottos and other architectural structures. Canals were dug out and over 600 foot of pipework were laid. This was needed to feed the extensive number of fountains that were to be installed.
The garden was carefully laid out into to compartments, each to be close to 100 foot across. Its final effect is awesome and to stand on the terrace and view the whole garden is a breadth taking experience.
The Cardinal was also the Governor of Tivoli and had a property that went with the title. This was too small for his occupation so it was demolished and a new one was built on the site. The plans for the construction were left to the control of Alberto Galvani, court architect of the Este. He in turn obtained the services of Livio Agresti for the internal decoration and between 1565 and 1566 a team of artists under the direction of Girolamo Muziano and Frederico Zuccari began the incredible task of painting the villa. From 1867–1872 there were many teams of painters, sculptors and stucco artisans, as well as ceramists, mosaic artist and fountain engineers. Work was not nearly as fast as the Cardinal would have liked but he had many financial difficulties after losing some of his ecclesiastical positions in France. There was much to do, in 1872 the top floors of the villa were redecorated and there was an urgency to complete the construction of the Dragon Fountain, the reason for the speed to complete this part was the visit of Pope Gregory XIII. However in December the Cardinal died and the property passed on to his nephew Cardinal Luiggi. Although construction carried on, it was on a much smaller scale, the maintenance costs being much higher than the new Cardinal imagined. Cardinal Luiggi died in 1586 and the Villa was then owned by the Cardinal Deacons of the Sacred College by 1599 it was passed back to the Este family, this time with Cardinal Alessandro who carried out major restoration work to both Villa and Gardens.
This concludes the early part of the Villa’s history, there is much more to tell but if you are interested please go to Wikipedia for the rest of the story.
Items of interest to see:
1: The Hall of the Stories of Solomon.
2: The Fountain of Venus.
3: The Salon.
4: Ippolito’s Bedroom.
5: The Hall of Glory.
6: The Hall of Noah.
7: One Hundred Fountains.
8: The Fountain of Neptune.
9: The Oval Fountain or ‘Fontana dell’Ovato’.
10: The Fountain of the Tripod.
These are the many delights that can be seen in Villa d’Este, a fantastic and memorable place to visit and there is so much more that can be said and seen.