Hadrian's Villa

The villa was constructed at Tivoli as a retreat from Rome for  Emperor Hadrian during the second and third decades of the 2nd century AD.
It was cooler in the hills and therefore a pleasant place to relax and entertain.

Having travelled extensively, Hadrian decided to incorporate many of the striking architectural features that he had seem in his travels including fountains, pools and gardens incorporating classical Greek and Roman styles.

At the entrance was a model of the complex as it would have been.

The villa and the buildings of the complex were raided for building materials, statues, mosaics and marble for the building of the Villa d'Este nearby,. It was built in the 16th century and thus there is not much left of Hadrian's extravagant villa.

 

 There are thousand year old olive trees all around the villa.

The statues around the pool are replicas. Apparently this are was used as a dining area and food was delivered to guests via little boats.

 The current owner of the estate, below