Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, which is famous for its storied Italian gardens on the hillside and especially because of its many fountains. It is now an Italian state museum, and is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Video Villa d'Este
Histori
The villa was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este (1509-1572), second son of Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and grandson of Pope Alexander VI, along with Lucrezia Borgia. The Este family has been the ruler of Ferrara since 1393, and is renowned as a patron of art and renaissance humanist scholars. As the second son, Ippolito was destined for a career in the church; he was named archbishop of Milan when he was only ten years old. At the age of 27, he was sent to a French court, where he became an adviser to the French King, Francis I, and in 1540 became a member of the King's Personal Council. At the age of thirty, at the request of the King, Pope Paul III made d'Este a cardinal. Thanks to his church and royal connections, he became one of the richest cardinals of the time, with an estimated annual income of 120,000 . He is a luxurious art patron, supporting sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, Pierluigi da Palestrina musician and poet Torquato Tasso. Despite his immense earnings, he was always in debt. The new French king, Henry II, sent him as a messenger to Rome, where he played a leading role in the social and political life of the city. He seemed destined to become Pope and used all his money and influence on that goal, but during the Reformation and the Council of Trent, his fancy lifestyle worked against him. His first nomination for the position of the papacy, in 1549, with the support of the King of France, was blocked by the Emperor Habsburg. d'Este promptly withdrew his own candidacy, supported the Habsburg candidate, and was honored by the College of Cardinals on 3 December 1549 with the lifetime position of Governor Tivoli. This new title fits perfectly with d'Este, as he has become a passionate collector of antiques, and it gives him jurisdiction over the Hadrian's villa site and other sites being unearthed. He did not give up his ambition to become Pope. He's five times a candidate for the Pope, but never elected.
Tivoli has been a popular summer residence since ancient Rome due to its height, cooler temperatures and proximity to Villa Hadriana, the summer residence of Emperor Hadrian I. The position of the Tivoli Governor came with an official residence located in the former Benedictine monastery, built in the 9th century on the site of an old Roman villa. In 1256, the money was donated to the Franciscan order. The residence is not big enough for the big Cardinal's prominent household like the d'Este, but it has spectacular countryside views underneath, including Hadrian's villa, and abundant natural water supply for fountains and gardens. d'Este commissioned a prominent classical scholar, Pirro Ligorio, who had studied Villa Hadriana and other Roman sites in the vicinity, to plan a new villa and garden that would surpass anything that the Romans had built. He obtained an abundant supply of marble and sculpture from the ruins of Hadrian's villa.
The land was acquired and construction was planned to begin at the end of 1550, but the Cardinals were plagued by diplomatic missions; he was sent to northern Italy to complete the war in Parma, then sent by Henry II to a mission to Sienna. He did not return to Tivoli until the summer of 1555. In September 1555, he was accused of being simony by Pope Paul IV and exiled. The Pope died in 1559, and the new Pope, Pope Pius IV, rehabilitated d'Este and returned his title as governor of Tivoli. Construction began when it returned in July 1560. More land was needed and acquired until 1569. The vast construction site required demolition of houses, public buildings, and roads. In 1568 the locals filed two different lawsuits against the Cardinal, but did not prevent him from his project. Between 1563 and 1565, large quantities of land were dug up and used to build new terraces; arcades, grottos, niches, and nymphaeums are built. The nearby River Aniene is diverted to provide water for the complex system of swimming pools, water jets, canals, fountains, waterfalls and water games. The steep slope of the garden; more than forty-five meters from top to bottom, pose a special challenge. The canals were dug and two hundred meters of underground pipes were laid to carry water from artificial mountains beneath the oval fountains throughout the garden. Following Renaissance aesthetic principles, the garden was carefully divided into regular units, or compartments, each of thirty meters, laid out along the long median axis, with five lateral axes.
The plan for the villa itself was done under the direction of Ferrarese architects Alberto Galvani, architect of Este's palace. The main painter of ambitious internal decoration is Livio Agresti of ForlÃÆ'¬. In 1565 and 1566, work began on the interior decoration of the villa. The ornaments are done by a team of painters under Girolamo Muziano and Frederico Zuccaari. In 1566, the Cardinal made his fifth attempt to be elected Pope, but once again he was defeated, and he was exempted by the new Pope Pius V, from a more official appointment. She is increasingly focused on decorating the villa. The new team of painters and stucco workers worked on assignments between 1567 and 1572, under the direction of Girolamo Muziano, Livio Agresti, Cesare Nebbia, Durante Alberti, Metteo Neroni, and Federico Zuccari. The painters joined the sculptor Giovan Battista della Porta. Pirrino del Galgliardo, Gillis van den Vliete, Giovanni Malanca and Pierre de la Motte. They joined the ceramists and mosaic artists, as well as fountain engineers, led by Pirro Ligorio, the original designer of the project, who returned to complete work in 1567-68.
The crucial work on the project began to slow in 1569, possibly due to the financial difficulties of the Cardinal, who no longer wished to be elected Pope and lost his favorable French position. He spends more time in the villa, reading and meeting prominent Renaissance poets, artists, and philosophers. In the summer of 1572, he entertained one of the last important guests, Pope Gregory XIII. To prepare for the visit, the Cardinal redecorated the villa's top floor and rushed to complete the dragon fountain. The acceptance for the Pope led to more than five thousand scudi forcing him to pawn silver and other valuable objects. Immediately after the reception, on December 2, 1572, the Cardinal died in Rome, and was buried in a simple tomb in a church adjoining Villa.
The Villa in the following years
With the death of Ippolito in 1572, the villa and gardens were handed over to his niece, Cardinal Luigi (1538-1586), who continued to work in some unfinished fountains and gardens, but struggled with high maintenance costs. After his death in 1586, it was owned by Cardinal Deacon of the College of Sacred, who did little to keep the villa. In 1599 he returned to the Este family by naming Cardinal Alessandro d'Este (1538-1624). Alessandro has the energy and ambition of its ancestors and is doing a major renovation of the garden and water system, as well as building a new fountain system in the lower garden. He also persuaded Pope Gregory XV to formally provide villa ownership to the Este family. His successors, the Duke of Modena, made further additions to the garden. Francesco I (1629-1641) restored many of the collapsed structures and began planting trees in previously unopened gardens. Cardinal Rinaldo I commissioned two new fountains by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1660-61. However, after 1695, the Este family can not support the high cost of villa maintenance, which they rarely use and generate no income. Villa decreased in length. After 1751, furniture was sent to Modena, and the antique statue was gradually removed from the garden and sold to collectors. In 1796, the House of Habsburg took ownership of the villa, after Ercole III d'Este left it to his daughter Maria Beatrice, married to Grand Duke Ferdinand of Habsburg. It was largely ignored and twice occupied by French soldiers, who took most of the decorations left.
Between 1850 and 1896, Villa was owned by Cardinal Gustav von Hohenlohe, who restored dilapidated villas and crumbling and overgrown gardens, which now appeal to the romantic sentiments of that period. Villa once again attracts artists, musicians, and writers. Composer Franz Liszt made several visits between 1865 and 1885, and wrote two pieces of music, Les Jeux d'Eau a la Villa d'Este and I Cipressi .
After the First World War, the villa was acquired by the Italian State, which began a major restoration in 1922. The villa was updated with paintings from the Galleria Nazionale warehouse, Rome. It suffered bomb damage in 1944 during World War II, and many walls were degraded in the postwar years by environmental pollution, but restoration and protection campaigns have managed to preserve the well-known features of villas and gardens. Jean Garrigue's poems A Water Walk by Villa d'Este (1959) were inspired by the gardens. Kenneth Anger filmed Eaux d'Artifice among the water features in the park. Famous water organs, which have not functioned for years, are restored and are now played daily for visitors.
Maps Villa d'Este
The Villa
Today the villa is entered from the door at Piazza Trento, next to the entrance of the Church of Santa-Maria Maggiore. At the time of Ippolito d'Este, the entrance was rarely used; visitors arrive at the bottom of the garden, and up, step by step, to the villa, see the fountain and the statues. The door is currently dated to 1521, to the period before Ippolito. The foyer inside the door has a painted dome that was once covered with paintings, most of which were destroyed by bombings during World War II. It is adorned with monochrome scenes from the Old Testament, some of which, including The Sacrifice of Isaac, can still be seen. They date to the period between 1563-65, and may be designed by GIrolamo Muziano The next room, Hall of the Stories of Solomon , shows scenes from the life of King Solomon, arranged in a painted frame resembling marble. They are also associated with Muziano and his craftsmen, also from about 1565. A massive travertine stone head is on display here, which until the 18th century was in the park.
The Courtyard is placed where the abbey's original monastery is located. It was built in 1566-67, and is surrounded by galleries. The core of the yard is the Fountain of Venus , the only fountain in the Villa that retains its original appearance and decor. The fountain, designed by Raffaelo Sangallo in 1568-69, is framed by two doric columns, and crowned by a 4th-century marble statue of the Emperor Constatine. The main element of the fountain is the sleeping Venusian statue of Venus, made in the 4th or 5th century AD. Water was originally poured from a vase beside it into the Roman labrum of white marble (2nd century AD) adorned with two lion heads. This fountain is surrounded by three sides by a sixteenth century courtyard located in the former Benedictine monastery. The fountain on the side wall contains caves and figures that follow the most familiar Hellenistic prototype in the Vatican's Sleeping Ariadne. The cave, symbolized by a high-aid stalactite, identifies him as a resident nymph, or genius loci , although the guidebook sometimes calls him Venus . The base of the fountain is emblazoned with cement bass reliefs once gilded, and depicts the white eagle's eagle from D'Este. This illustrates the course of the river that flows from Mount Sant'Angelo to the Villa. The sculptured decorations around the courtyard, especially the representation of the quince tree, depict 11 Hercules labor; theft of golden apples from Hesperides Park, where they are guarded by the Ladone dragon. Hercules is known as the protector of Tiiburtin region where the villa is located, and is also claimed to be the ancestral family of d'Este.
Cardinal Apartments
The Salon on the ground floor is the first room of Ippolito's private apartment; it is used for receptions, and features spectacular views from the garden below and the countryside outside, including Villa of Hadrian. The walls, today naked, are covered with leather decorated with gold and green designs and eagles from the family of d'Este. The vaulted ceiling of the room is still covered with decorations and frescoes on the theme of virtue, painted in twenty different personifications. It was designed by Livio Agresti in 1568, and made by a team of artists. and stucco makers. Other themes include sights with ruined temples, inspired by the Tiburtine countryside.
A small bungalow beside the salon has decorations and safes adorned with more personification of virtues, and leads to the Cardinal Bedroom, built in 1576. The bedroom wall was originally covered with leather painted with gold and silver. The coffered wood ceilings are the most prominent feature of the room, plated and painted with an Este crest. The eagle is surrounded by quince branches, bishops caps and the family motto of Este, ab insomnia drakone non custodita The lower floor
The floor beneath the Cardinal's private apartment contains a series of highly decorated rooms, each adorned with a particular theme, all connected to nature, mythology, and water. The rooms are less formal than the above apartments; they are used for personal moments in the life of the Cardinal; listening to music or poetry; conversation, reading, and religious reflection. They are reached by a large ceremonial staircase that descends from the yard, and is connected to one another by a narrow long corridor with a high vaulted ceiling, which receives light from a series of openings into the courtyard above. The corridor ceiling is decorated with mosaics from the late 16th century, representing the pergola inhabited by colorful birds, making the corridors look like part of the garden. The corridor also features three elaborate rough fountains. containing miniature grottos framed with columns and pediments.
The Hall of Noah , like other rooms on the floor, has walls covered with frescoes designed to resemble rugs, interwoven with classic landscape scenes, ruins, rustic farmhouses, and other sights covering inches from the sky- sky and walls, This room is dated 1571, at the end of the villa's decor, and is associated with Girolamo Muziano, which is famous for similar landscapes of Venetian landscape. The main scene depicted is the Four Seasons, the allegory of prudence and simplicity, and the main scene of Noah's Ark with the ark shortly after his landing at Mount Ararat, made a covenant with God. The white eagle, the symbol d'este, is clearly shown to have landed from Ark.
The next room, Hall of Moses, features a fresco in the middle of the ceiling that shows Moses hitting rocks with his wand and bringing water to the people of Israel. This is an allusion to the Cardinal, who brings water to the Villa gardens by making a channel through the rock. The other panels show scenes from the life of Moses, a hydra with seven heads, the emblem of the Ercole I d'Este family, the ancestors of Ippolito, and fantastic scenes.
The Hall of Venus initially has as its center a large fountain, with artificial cliffs and framed caves in stucco. A water fountain and a sleeping Venusian classic, but in the 19th century the basin was removed and Venus, removed after the death of the Cardinal, was replaced by two new statues of Peace and Religion, representing a scene in the Lourdes cave. The original terra cotta floor is still in place, featuring a white eagle from the d'Este family. The only other decoration in the room is a 17th century painting on the angel ceiling that offers flowers to Venus.
The First and Second Tiburtine Halls were made at the same time by a team of painters led by Cesare Nebia, they were made before 1569. and they both had a general plan; The walls are covered with painted architectural elements, including columns and doors and intricate mold ornaments and sculptural elements, which provide spaces that indicate large numbers of frescoes. Flower designs fill the space between painted architecture, along with medals, masks, and other symbols. The ornaments of the two rooms depict the story of the mythology and history of the Tiburtine region, where the villa is located.
The main theme of the Second Tiburtine Hall is the story of Tiburtine Sibyl: According to mythology, Queen Ida is punished by Jupiter for raising young Bacchus To avoid her husband's madness, Atamante, Venus and Neptune turn him into a fortune teller, Leucotea. He went to Italy where he lived in the jungle of TIburtine, gave prophecies, and predicted the birth of Christ. Another TIburtine legend illustrated in the room is King Annius, who chases Mercury, kidnap his daughter Cloris, and drowns in the river Aniene, which takes its name, and which provides water for the Villa fountain. The Sibyl, King Annius, and personification of the Aniene River all appear in the fresco of the room, along with the Triumph of Apollo.
The First Tiburtine Hall illustrates the story of three legendary Greek brothers, Tiburtus, Coras, and Catillus, who defeated Sicels, an Italic tribe, and built a new town, Tibur (now Tivoli), their Battle is illustrated in the central frescoes of the ceiling, as well as other events in the establishment of the area. Room decoration also includes the Ten Labor Hercules, where he stole valuable herds of cattle, and was saved by Zeus, who showered his enemies with stones; as well as pairs of gods and goddesses in painted niches; Vulcan and Venus; Jupiter and Juno; Apollo with Diana; and Bacchus with Circe. On the wall is an illustration of an oval fountain, built by Ippolito at the time the room was decorated.
The Hall of the Fountain is used by Cardinal Ippolito as a reception room for guests who have just arrived through the park below, and for concerts and other artistic events. The room was designed and built between 1565 and 1570, probably by Girolamo Muziano and his artist team. Its main element is the fountain on the wall, covered with ceramics and colorful sculptures, decorated with pieces of glass, shells and precious stones, and crowned by the white eagle of the d'Este family. The fountain was completed in 1568 by Paolo Calandrino. The fountain basin rests on two stone dolphins. Relief in the central niche depicts the Tiburtine fountain of acropolis and Temple of the Sibyl. On another wall was a picture of an unfinished house and garden and a fountain, and a small illustration on the opposite wall of the Ippolito villa fountain in Rome, on Quirinal Hill, now the Pope's dwelling. The paintings on the ceiling are a special mythological scene; every corner has a portrait of different gods and goddesses - Tradition says that Mercury's painting is Muziano's self portrait. The central painting on the ceiling illustrates the Synod of the Gods, with Jupiter in the center surrounded by all the gods of Olympus. Fresco was modeled after a similar work by Raphael at the Loggia of Psyche at Villa Farnesina. The hall is connected with loggia, and from there the staircase descends into the garden.
The Hall of Hercules dates to 1565-66 and also by Muziano. The paintings on the ceiling depict eight Hercules labor, surrounded by landscape depictions, ancient architecture, and grace and virtue. The central painting of the ceiling shows Hercules being welcomed to Olympus by the gods.
The Hall of Nobility is the work of a different artist, Federico Zuccari, and his artist team. The central painting on the ceiling depicts the "Nobles on the throne between Liberation and Mercy". Ornaments on the walls include paintings of Plato statues, Pythagoras, Diogenes, Socrates, and other classical philosophers, Graces and Virtues, and Diana of Ephesus, the fertility goddess, who also has a fountain dedicated to her in the garden.
The Hall of Glory was finished between 1566 and 1577 by Federico Zuccari and eight assistants. This is the work of Roman painters, with illusions painted from doors, windows, tapestries, sculptures, and everyday objects used by the Cardinal. The central painting of the ceiling, Allegory of Glory, has disappeared, but there are allegorical portrayals of virtue, Four Seasons, and Religion, Magnanimity, Fortune, and Time.
The Hall of the Hunt is slower than other rooms, from the late 16th or early 17th century, and in different styles; it features hunting scenes, rustic landscapes, hunting trophies, and, oddly enough, a sea battle scene. A travertine stone staircase, called a "snail ladder", descends into the garden. Originally built to access the court of pallacorda, the ancestral tennis, imported Ippolito to Italy from the French Court. The room where the court is now is a cafeteria and bookstore.
Gardens and Fountains
The fame and glory of Villa d'Este above are all erected by an amazing system of fountains; fifty-one fountains and nymphaeum, 398 spouts, 364 water jets, 64 waterfalls, and 220 basins, fed by 875 meters of canals, conduits and cascades, and all work entirely with gravity, without pumps.
Pirro Ligorio, in charge of the iconography program working at the villa fresco, was also assigned to organize the garden for the villa, with the help of Tommaso Chiruchi of Bologna, one of the most skilful hydraulic engineers of the sixteenth century; Chiruchi has worked at the fountain at Villa Lante. At Villa d'Este he was assisted in the technical design for a fountain by a Frenchman, Claude Venard, who is a manufacturer of hydraulic organs. The result is one of the best gardens of the Renaissance, rivaled only by Villa Lante, Villa Farnese in Caprarola and Villas Aldobrandini and Torlonia in Frascati. Parks and water features are admired and emulated over the next two centuries in the gardens from Portugal to Saint Petersburg.
The garden plan is put on a central axle with cross-axis children, refreshed by about five hundred jets in fountains, ponds and troughs. Water is provided by Aniene, who is partially diverted through the city, a distance of one kilometer, and, originally, by the spring of Rivelle, which supplies water under the courtyard of the villa (now supplied by Aniene as well). The garden is now part of Grandi Giardini Italiani.
Vialone, or Terrace
The large, 200-meter-long terrace, called Vialone , is nestled between villas and gardens, with beautiful views of the park and countryside. Built between 1568 and 1569. The Cardinals use space for fireworks, games, goggles and celebrations. Initially shaded by two rows of elm trees, except for the space directly in front of the Villa, left empty to preserve the view. The terrace is enclosed in one end by the Europa Fountain, and on the other with a large loggia and belvedere in the form of a triumphal arch called Cenacolo . This structure provides shade beneath it in summer, as well as scenic views. It was originally meant to be decorated in the interior with cement decorations, gilding and frescoes, but it was never finished.
In the center of the terrace, attached to the facade of the villa, is a double loggia, made in 1566-1577 travertine stone. Two stairs provide access to the ceremonial salon downstairs, while the upper level creates a terrace for the Cardinal apartment. At the terrace level it contains Nymphaeum , or cave, where Leda Fountain is located. The original sculpture of the fountain, depicting Jupiter and Leda turned into swans and four children, Elena, Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux. sold in the 18th century and now at the Galleria Borghese in Rome. The statues have been replaced by the headless statue of Minerva found in the Palazzo Manni park in Tivoli. The original fountain displays a new hydraulic trick; the water that splashed from a vase held by Leda hit a metal plate, causing a flash of light to reflect the cave wall.
The Tripod Fountain is placed in the center of Vialone. It's only been around since 1930; it is a copy of an ancient Roman fountain, a marble basin supported by a central column and three pilasters. The original is now in the Louvre. The original fountain on site, Fountain of the Sea Horses, which was moved by Ippolito from Hadrian's Villa to his garden, is now in the Vatican Museum.
The Fountain of Europa is found at the northeast end at the top of the park. It was started by Ippolito but not completed until 1671. The design, a triumphal arch with two column commands, corinthian and doric, copies that of Grand Loggia. The big alcove in the center, now empty, holds the statue of Europa Accompanying the Bull now at Albani Albena in Rome.
Top park
Two ramps leads to the upper garden of the Fountain of the Tripod, and there is a double symmetrical flight of stairs at both ends. The Cardinal's Walk is a shaded street, attached to a retaining wall of the porch, which leads from one side of the garden to the other, passing through several grottos built into the retaining wall. At the southeast end of the walk, just below the Fountain of Europa, is the Grotto of Igea and Aesculpius . The cave is decorated with tartar flakes, mosaics and sea-colored shells, and a small portion of the original painting. Initially they held two statues; that Aesculpius, the god of medicine, is now found in the Louvre, and Igea, the daughter of Auesculpius, the goddess of healing (now at the Vatican Museum).
The Loggia of Pandora is found in the center of Cardinal's Walk, just below the Villa's center. This section runs closed, with an arcade looking into the garden. Its contents nymphaeum built into the wall, and originally decorated with mosaics and with a statue of Pandora sof and two statues Minerva. The statue of Pandora carries a vase of water, symbolizing the evil of the world. The vase is a hidden fountain, pouring water. The statues were sold in the 18th century; Pandora and one of the Minervas are now in the Capitoline Museum. In the nineteenth century nymphaeum was transformed into a Christian chapel; it's a favorite place of composer Franz Liszt, who dedicates two pieces of music to the chapel.
The Fountain of the Bicchierone is one of two fountains created for Villa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It was made between 1660 and 1661 on the commission of Cardinal Rinaldo I d'Este. The fountain basin is in the form of a large shell, which reaches up to the level of the terrace. In the middle is toothed Bicchierone (cup or cup) from which water sprays up. Bernini watched the fountain building, and, after his inauguration in May 1661, he had a reduced watering spurt, to avoid blocking the view of Loggia Pandora. Although not part of the original design of the park, the fountain becomes the link between the palace and garden architecture.
The Loggetta of the Cardinal is a small ballustraded terrace surrounded by a tall laurel fence and stone bench, between the Fountain of the Biccherone and the park. This is said to be Cardinal's favorite place to read and discuss poetry and art, and oversee the construction of the park around it. Shortly after his death, a large Hercules statue, with an Achilles child in his hand, was placed there, facing the garden below. It is one of three statues of Hercules in a central position along the central axis. When viewed from under the garden, everything looks, parallel to Loggia Villa at the top. The statue is now found in the Louvre.
Grotto of Diana is located at the end of Cardinal's Walk, under Gran Loggia . It is a large underground vaulted room, decorated in 1570-72 by Paolo Caladrino, and fully covered with a mythological mosaic of scenes, with images of fish, dragons, dolphins, pelicans and other animals, as well as hawks and apples from 'Family Este. Its main feature is the rustic fountain with the statue of the goddess Diana, in a large alcove decorated with stucco relief landscape, sea and ship. All the statues were sold in the 18th century and now at the Capitoline Museum in Rome. Some of the original majolica floor tiles from the 16th century can still be seen.
Under the Loggetta of the Cardinal is a sidewalk that runs through the park and passes through three caves. In the middle is the Grotto of Hercules , which is covered by Loggetta of the Cardinal. Below this cave there is a tank and some hydraulic machines for the fountain below. The cave once had stucco reliefs from animals or Hercules workers. The resting Hercules statue in the cave is now in the Vatican Museum. Grotto of Pomona has a design similar to Grotto of Hercules. Some of the original mosaic decorations are still visible. Water is poured into a fountain of white marble mask, which was discovered when the fountain was restored in 2002.
The Oval Fountain ( Fontana dell'Ovato )
The Oval Fountain is one of the first fountains in the park, and among the most famous. It was designed by Pirro Ligorio, the villa architect, as a water theater, spraying water in various forms. It started in 1565 and was completed in 1570. It was made by fountain engineers Tomasso de Como and Curzio Maccarono, with a statue by Raffaello Sangallo. A large stone basin in the semicircular rear wall flowed into the fountain, and sprayed it into the air, while the water jet entered the basin from the vase in the hands of the Nereids statues, and also the spray in the form of a fan from the vase in the alcove on the semicircle wall at back fountain. An artificial mountain rises above the fountain, symbolizing the Tiburtine scene; the mountain penetrated by three grottos. each poured water, and decorated with statues representing Sibyl Albunesa with his son Melicerte, by Gillis van den Vliete (1568), and the statues representing the river Erculaneo and Anio, by Giovanni Malanca (1566), all of which poured water into the Oval Fountain. A road above the fountain leads through the ring of basins and waterfalls. The fountain also has its own cave, Grotto of Venus , designed by Pirro Ligorio, and built in 1565-68. It serves as a meeting place for guests on summer days. The original cave statues; the figure of Venus is similar to Capitoline Venus and the two putti are no longer there, but monochrome mural traces of strange figures, sculptured tiles and cave walls still exist.
The Hundred Fountains ( Cento Fontane > -
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One hundred Fountains was another miracle of the Renaissance gardens. They are located between an oval fountain and Fontana in Rometta, and in fact there are nearly three hundred spouts fed by three parallel channels, one above the other. Along the edge of the upper canal there are spouts in the form of lilies, French symbols, alternating with d'Este elig, boats and obelisk; all spray water into the fan form. Water is captured by the second channel, which feeds into spouts in the form of a mask, from which it reaches the lower canal.
The fountain was built between 1566 and 1577. The original fountain stream has more decorations, including small boats alternating with terra cotta vases along the upper canals, planted with fruit trees; and the walls are adorned with sculptural plaques that show the view of Metamorphosis from Ovid. It deteriorates rapidly and is largely removed or replaced. The walls are now so overgrown with vegetation that little remaining decorations can be seen. It was restored in the 17th century, then abandoned for a long time, and finally restored again in 1930 to its present form. Like every other feature of the park, the canals and hundreds of fountains have their share in a symbolic plan; they represent a water channel built by Romans to supply water to Rome. A hundred Fountains have been celebrated in Italian art and literature, especially in the Roman Elegies of Gabriele d'Annunzio.
To descend to the next level, there are stairs at both ends - an elaborate fountain complex called Rometta (the little Roman) is at the far left - to see the full length of < i>> Hundred Fountains at the next level, where water jets fill the long trough, and Pirro Ligorio's Fontana dell'Ovato ends cross-vista. A visitor can run behind the water through a rusted arcade of a hollowed nymphaeum, which is inhabited by a marble nymph by Giambattista della Porta. Above nymphaeum, the statue of Pegasus reminds visitors of the Hippocrene fountain at Parnassus, haunting the Muses.
The terrace is united to the next by the central Fountain of the Dragons, dominating the central perspectives of the gardens, erected for a visit in 1572 from Pope Gregory XIII's coat-of-weapon dragon features. The sound of this fountain differs from near Uccellario with artificial birds. The middle staircase leads to a wooded slope to three rectangular fish ponds placed on the cross axis at the lowest point of the garden, ending on the right by the water organ (now brought back in use) and the Neptune Fountain (belonging to the 20th century restoration).
The Fountain of Rometta ( Fontana in Rometta )
The Fountain of Rometta is located at the end of the Hundred Fountains of the Oval Fountain. This is an important part of the symbolic story told by the upper gardens; The water of the Tiber River appears in the Tiburtin Mountains, symbolized by the Oval Fountain, flowing through the valley (One Hundred Fountains) and arriving at the gates of Rome; The Fountain of Rometta is Ancient Rome in miniature; the real city is visible in the distance behind the Fountain. This fountain was designed by Pirro Ligorio and built by Curzio Maccarone between 1567 and 1570. The fountain and architecture is built on a semicircular Terrace supported by pilasters connected to a double arcade. The back of the fountain represents the building of the monument if Rome; severely deteriorated in the early 19th century, and was largely destroyed in 1850, but some of this architecture still stands on the left side of the fountain. The small buildings are divided into seven sections, representing the seven hills of Rome and their most famous monuments. The small town includes gates and arches, and even small marble statues. In the center of the miniature city is a large Victorious Victorian sculpture, created in 1568 by the sculptor Fliemish Pierre de la Motte, facing the Tiburtine Sibyl statue at the other end of the Hundred Fountain row. Another statue by the same artist, The She Wolf took care of her Twins , was placed in the garden in 1611. The water flowing through the fountain pool next to the city represents the Tiber River; boat in the fountain, with a pole in the form of an obelisk, symbolizing Tiburtina Island.
A new feature was added to the Fountain of Rometta in the early 17th century; artificial mountain, penetrated by caves and caves, to the left of the city building. Above an artificial mountain is a statue of the river god Aniene, holding in his hand miniature Sibyl Temple. Sculpture figures representing the Apennine mountains, holding mountains on his arms. half hidden in a cave.
The Fountain of the Dragons ( Fontana dei Draghi )
The Fountain of the Dragons was designed by PIrro Ligorio to illustrate the story of Hercules who fulfilled one of his work by stealing a golden apple from Hesperides Park, which was guarded by the Ladon Dragon. The same story is illustrated in the fresco in Villa's interior decoration.
This fountain is located on the central vertical axis of the garden, parallel to the Villa, and in the middle of the original garden. just under the Hundred Fountains. It is enclosed by two semi-circular ramps leading to the above levels. The surrounding ramps are covered with gravel tartars and decorated with mosaic tiles and majolica, and contain two large niches. Ligorio planned this fountain to illustrate the themes of war and the battle against evil; he meant that a niche would be occupied by a statue of Hercules with his club, before he killed Dragon Ladon; and the second with Mars statues, gods of War, Perseus, and gladiators. In the center of the fountain is a scogliera or small island, which houses four sculptured dragons, which drain water from the mouth to a fountain, while a powerful central fountain ejects a column of water that is vertically high in the air , visible from the entire park The idea of ​​a vertical water jet as the center of the garden was copied in many baroque gardens in the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition to dragons, two sculptured dolphins sprayed water into the pool. More water flows down from above, flowing in a channel connected to a sloping parapet. Water emerges from the breast of two women half sphinxes, half a sea horse; flowing into the channel, entering the carved frog's mouth, and reappearing through the carved salamander's mouth. In accordance with the theme of the battle against evil, in the days of Ippolito the fountain also produced a dramatic sound effect that was heard throughout the garden; water stored under sudden pressure is released, imitating fireworks or cannon guns. To make more noise, the flow of water from above can also be from a fine spray to heavy rain.
Ippolito had a fountain converted for the visit of Pope Gregory in 1572. A dragon with a hundred heads was replaced by four dragons, the Pope's emblem. Ippolito died three months later, and the fountain was still unfinished. It was not finished until the end of the 17th century with different sculpture programs; Instead of a statue of Hercules, a statue of a god Jupiter holding lightning in his hand placed in a central niche. Sound effects like cannons from the fountain are now meant to be his lightning sound..
The Fountain of the Owl ( Fontana della Civetta )
The Fountain of the Owl is located in the southwest part of the park, under the Rometta Fountain and Proserpina Fountain, These three fountains form an architectural unit, their porch connected with a ladder, with nymphaeums placed under the porch. The Fountain of the Owl was built between 1565 and 1569 by Giovanni del Duca. Compared to other fountains in the park, it is very formal, placed on a terrace surrounded by walls with alcoves, crowned with white eagles and lily symbol d'Este. The fountain itself is a separate structure, entirely covered with polychrome tiles. At the top, above the niche, is the symbol of the hands of d'Este held by two angels. The niche is flanked by ionic columns. Originally containing statues of two young men holding goat skin pouring water into a basin held by three satyrs. The statue in the niche, believed to be lost, was rediscovered during renovation in 2001-02, hidden under mineral and earth deposits. The architectural elements are still intact, but the figures of the youth and the satyrs are lost or destroyed.
This fountain also produces music, thanks to an ingenious robot made by French organist Luc Leclerc, which was installed in 1566, before the Fountain of the Organ on the other side of the park. It features bronzed painted bronze birds placed in a niche, posing on two olive branches of metal. Each bird sings an individual song, produced by tap water and air. Mechanical owls appear, and the birds stop singing; then, at the end of the show, all the birds sing along. This music feature was admired and copied in other European parks, and functioned until the end of the 17th century. It takes constant improvement because of the action of water on complicated mechanisms, and in the 19th century completely destroyed. The decorative elements of the fountain were fully restored in the 1930s, and restored again in 2001-2002,
During the 2001-02 restoration work, the workers discovered several original mechanisms that produced bird songs, including wind chambers, tubes that propelled air and water, and machines that made owls move. Using modern materials, Leonardo Lombardi is able to create new versions of old machines so birds can sing and move again.
Proserpina Fountain ( Fontana in Proserpina )
The Fountain of Proserpina is located just above the Fountain of the Owl, and connects it to a ladder. Sometimes called the Fountain of the Emperors, because it was originally intended to show the statues of four Roman Emperors who owned villas in this region: Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Trajan and Hadrian. It was designed and built by Alberto Galvani in 1569-70. It's connected to the Rometta Fountain on top by two stairs (only one left today) whose limits support water channels flowing through shells and masks. The stairs close two sides of the small fountain yard. The fountain is placed in a triumphal arch between the stairs. The arch is framed with a curved pole, similar to the one in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The center of the niche held a statue of the fertility goddess Prosperpina was abducted by Pluto, placed there around 1640. The Proserpina statue has disappeared; Pluto remains, carried on a shell supported by two sea horses. The niches on the sides holding the statues of the Tritons drove the dolphins and blew them buccina , or the sea shell trumpets.
The Fountain of the Organ ( Fontana dell'Organo )
The Fountain of the Organ ('' Fontana dell'Organo '') is one of the most famous features of the garden; it is depicted and imitated throughout Europe. Work on the stone structure began in 1566. The fountain itself was made by French fountain engineer Luc Leclerc and his nephew Claude Venard. After the death of Leclerc Venard discovered the ingenious mechanism of aquatic organ, which was installed in 1571.
The fountain is the first of its kind, and surprises everyone who hears it; When Pope Gregory XII visited the villa in 1572, accompanied by the courts of the cardinals and princes, he insisted on examining the inside of the fountain, to see if one was not hiding inside making music.
A large stone arch behind a fountain, '' castellum aquae '' or water castle, conceals a water reservoir and a hydraulic machine fountain. The original design featured a cave in an arch niche, with a view of twenty-two organ pipes. The statue '' Mother Nature '' or 'Ephesian Diana' was placed in front of the arch in 1569; now has its own fountain in the lower garden.
The water that creates music arrives first above '' Aquae Castellum '. It goes first through a series of whirlpools, which mix air with water; then falling into a pipe to the '' aeolia camera '', or wind chamber, where air and water are separated; water spin the wheel, rotate the cylinder that opens the valve of the twenty-two pipes, so air can pass through the pipe and make music.
The original show of the fountain begins with the sound of two trumpets, held by the Fame statue on the fountain cornice. Then came the music, possibly madrigals played by four or five pipes; then climax: "Flood", a waterfall from above the fountain, and bursts of water that spurt from the fountain below. This is accompanied by the sound of the horn held by the '' Triton '' in the fountain; the horn exploded slowly, then hard, then soft again.
The fountain mechanism is very smooth, and requires ongoing cleaning and maintenance. The fountain was restored in the early 18th century by Cardinal Alessandro d'Este, who added the white eagle d'Este to the top of the '' aqua castellum '', and decorate the facade with Orpheus and Apollo statues; Caryatids and Winged VIctories; and Orpheus reliefs that lure animals and music contests between Apollo and Marsia. The organ itself is completely redone. It was given a keyboard with a wider tone range, and was placed in an octagonal kiosk with a dome. The organ was restored several times again in the 17th century, but by the end of the 18th century it had deteriorated beyond expectations of improvement.
In 2003, after a long and smooth restoration, the organ could play again. The original wind chamber and tank to create a whirlpool is maintained, and the rest of the mechanisms are replaced by new machines in modern materials following the original principle. It now has 144 pipes, and is controlled by a cylinder, operated by water, which can play four parts of the final Renaissance music for a total of four minutes.
Fountain of Neptune ( Fontana di Nettuno ) and fish pond ( Peschiere )
Right under the Organ Fountain, and receiving water from the upper fountain, is the Fountain of Neptune, a work made in the 20th century to replace a landmark of a garden that has deteriorated.
Space was originally occupied by a rocky cascade, created in the 17th century by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It was commissioned by Cardinal Rinado I d'Este as the backdrop for the lateral axis of the park, unfinished by Cardinal Ippolito. Bernini's plan calls for a waterfall from the Fountain of the Organ that jumps over the Sibyls caves, then flows down a rocky slope into a lake decorated with reefs and sculptures. Two additional waterfalls enter the lake from the sides. Bernini designed a cascade to produce a roaring sound of water. Cascade Bernini is reproduced in paintings and carvings, and imitated in other parks in Italy and as far as England. Unfortunately, the cascade was completely ignored for two centuries, dry, crumbling and overgrown with vegetation. In the 1930s, architect Attilio Rossi created the current fountain, using what was left of the Bernini cascade. Against the walls of the Grottoes of the Sibyls, he built a rectangular pool with powerful water jets, the highest jet in the middle. The core is a cave under the waterfall of the Fountain of the Organ; The cave contains a 16th century body of Neptune sculpture, originally intended for an unfinished fountain in the ocean. Another water jet in the form of a fan emerges from the pond at the side of the fountain.
The three fish ponds ( Peschiere ) pass through the garden of Neptune Springs. They were initially in charge of providing fresh fish, ducks, and goose for the Cardinal's table, and also, in Pirro Ligorio's plan, meant to connect two fountains; Organ Fountains and Cataracts and Ocean Fountains. In the center of the pond, Ligorio initially planned to create a central pool with a monumental fountain. However, when Ippolito died in 1572, only two ponds had been completed. At the end of the 16th century, the pool was lined by sixteen high pilasters in ermes that sprayed fan-shaped sprays, creating many rainbows on a clear day.
In 1632, the Duke of Modena, in charge of Villa, completely overhauled the pond. The pilaster was removed and replaced with eight pedestals with a vase that sprayed water, and with twenty-four large pots containing various orange trees. The pond now serves primarily as a beautiful foreground for the cascade and fountain of the Fountain of Neptune.
The Lower Garden - The Rotonda of the Cypresses and Fountain of Diana of Ephesus
In the 16th century, the lower garden, under a fish pond, was originally a kitchen garden. The center of the lower garden is divided into sixteen large squares, with pergola in the center of each section, surrounded by medicinal plants and flowers, and large pots of fruit trees. The main path that separates the garden is covered with trellises where grapes grow, heather and jasmine. In the center is a large wooden pavilion, which contains four small fountains in the shape of flowers, flowing through the water. The pergolas and pavilions were destroyed in the early seventeenth century, and replaced by Rotonda of the Cypresses , a circular hallway that originally contained sixteen pine trees, and offered shade to visitors arriving in the garden, as well as dramatic scenes from the rest of the park, fountains, and villas high above. In the 19th century the cypress trees are very large, and are one of the most famous features of the garden, painted by artists and music inspired by Franz Liszt and poetry by Gabriele d'Annunzio. Two original cypress trees still exist; cypresses and other laurels were planted at the end of the 20th century.
The Fountains of the eagle d'Este are a group of small rural fountains, with water splattering from stone bowls, with various themes. One contains a group of white eagle statues, the emblem of the d'Este family. This fountain is the rest of the formal gardens that occupy that part of the park before the Rotonda of Cypresses is built.
The lower park also contains two large rural fountains, called Mete , located in the northwest corner of the park near the entrance. They are designed to look like natural stone, with grottos and niches. Created in 1568-1569, they were made by Tomasso da Como, and were originally intended to showcase two massive statues of giants, park guards. A smaller, smaller fountain, called Fontana Rustca dell'Inverno , stores a 16th-century winter statue originally in Gran Loggia.
The most famous fountain in the garden below is the Diana Fountain of Ephesus, also known as Mother Nature Fountain. This statue originally stood next to the Fountain of the Organ; transferred to a lower garden by Allesandro d'Este in the 16th century. It was made by Flemish sculptor Gillis van den Vliete in 1568, and imitated the classical Diana Roman statue of Ephesus from the second century, now at the National Museum of Naples. He stood in a cave made of splinters of tartar; bursts of water sprayed from some goddess breasts.
Villa d'Este in Art
Some gardens have been painted or drawn by many famous artists rather than Villa d'Este, especially during the Renaissance and in the 19th century. As a result, park features are influenced and replicated in other parks across Europe, from England to Russia. In the Renaissance the park was seen as a work of classical art and new technology, but by the end of the 18th century, when the garden was overgrown and collapsed, it helped create a beautiful image of the romantic garden.
Visiting the Villa
Villa d'Este is easily accessible in the following ways:
- Take the blue-area COTRAL bus Roma Tivoli-Via Prenestina at the bus station outside Ponte Mammolo station on metro line B; the Largo Nazioni Unite stop is approximately 100m from the Villa entrance
- Take the urban railway FL2 from Tiburtina station to Tivoli station, then, local bus CAT number 1 or 4/to Piazza Garibaldi stop; the stops are in Tivoli's main square in front of the Villa
See also
- Italian Renaissance gardens
- Gardening history
- Landscape architecture
- Tiburtine Sibyl
Notes and citations
References
- Touring Club Italiano, 1966. Guida d'Italia: Roma et dintorni , pp.Ã, 615-18.
- History of English on the official site
Bibliography
- Attlee, Helena (2006). Italian Garden - Cultural History (paperback). London: Frances Lincoln. p.Ã, 240. ISBNÃ, 978-0-7112-3392-8. Ã,
- Barisi, Isabella (2004). Guide to Villa d'Este . Rome: De Luca Editori d'Arte. ISBN: 978-88-8016-613-9.
- Impelluso, Lucia. Jardins, potagers et labyrinthes , Hazan Edition, Paris, 2007
- Allain, Yves-Marie and Christiany, Janine L'art des jardins en Europe , Citadelles and Mazenod, Paris, 2006
Further reading
- Cartocci, Sergio 1976. Tivoli: The Tiburtine area: its history and artwork: Villa d'Este, Villa Gregoriana, Villa Adriana
- Coffin, David R. 1960. Villa D'Este Di Tivoli
- Dal Maso, Leonardo B. 1978. Vila Ippolito II d'Este villa in Tivoli (Italian artist)
- Dernie, David, and Alastair Carew-Cox 1996. Villa D'Este in Tivoli
- de Vita, Marcello. 1950 etc. Villa d'Este: Description of villa
- Durand, Jean 1992. Les jeux d'eau de la Villa d'Este
- Mancini, Gioacchino, 1959. Villa Adriana e Villa d'Este (Itinerari del musei e monumenti d'Italia)
- Pemberton, Margaret. 1955. Villa d'Este
- Podenzani, Nino, 1960. Villa d'Este
- Raymond, (trans. Hall) 1920. History Note in Villa d`Este
External links
Media terkait dengan Villa d'Este (Tivoli) of Wikimedia Commons
- Situs web resmi
- Tivoli - Villa d'Este Informasi dan deskripsi Illustrasi tentang Villa d'Este
- Roberto Piperno, "Villa d'Este"
- Villa d'Este Garden - The Mirror of Dreams
- Festival Jeux d'art sebuah Villa d'Este
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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