When travel dreams take people to Europe, Italy is often their first stop. There's something seductively charming about this country, its people, and la dolce vita. I always feel at home in Italy, whether struggling onto a crowded bus in Rome, navigating the fun chaos of Naples, sipping a cocktail in a Venetian bar, or sitting on the banister of Florence's Ponte Vecchio for a midnight street-music concert.

But I also seek escapes from Italy's urban intensity. When I'm in Rome, I like to travel about 18 miles east to the hill town of Tivoli, a popular retreat since ancient times. Today it's famous for two very different villas: Hadrian's Villa, a Roman emperor's countryside getaway, and Villa d'Este, the lush and watery 16th-century residence of a Catholic cardinal.