Known in classical times as Tibur, Tivoli is located a mere twenty miles from Rome (roughly a half-hour drive) on the lower slopes of the Sabine Hills. Although older than Rome (supposedly founded four centuries later) Tivoli was eventually subjugated to the Eternal City like the rest of Italy and the then known world.

By the end of the first century B.C., besides being the quarry source for the Roman travertine stone used on so many of the major monuments including the Colosseum, it had become a popular resort for wealthy Romans because of its mild climate and wonderful panoramas of the city and the Latium plain, but also because it boasted its own oracle, the Sybil Albunea. Marius, Sallust, Cassius, Trajan and Hadrian are only a few of those who had lavish holiday residences here. This popularity lasted on down through the centuries, and Villa D'Este is one of the more impressive examples. Our trip to Tivoli is a magical journey into a High Renaissance villa. Box hedge gardens, mazes and hundreds of gurgling fountains are the prime attraction of this wondrous summer villa built in 1550 for Cardinal Ippolito D'Este, son of the infamous Lucrezia Borgia