Villa d’Este, with its stunning Renaissance garden, is in the small town of Tivoli about 20 miles east of Rome. The 16th century villa’s large terraced garden is famous for its many lavish fountains and water displays powered completely by the use of gravity. Villa d’Este is an amazing site, one that I highly recommend seeing.

Enter the villa from Piazza Trento, near the Santa Maria Maggiore Church. The visit starts with a walk through the foyer and courtyard to the Apartments of the Cardinal, designed for Cardinal Ippolito in the 1560’s. Rooms on the lower floor are lavishly decorated with frescoes and friezes.