Villa Adriana

Villa Adriana was the extra-urban imperial residence in the Tiburtina countryside, wanted by the emperor Hadrian, for himself and for his court. The current visitable area is located in Tivoli, a few kilometers from Rome. The villa contains the remains of residential buildings, baths, fountains, gardens and nymphaeums, as well as eighteenth-century farmhouses, all of great beauty and spread over well over 80 hectares. Every corner of Villa Adriana is an open-air museum, where you can stroll and relive history immersed in an enchanting panorama. A rich architectural complex that officially entered the UNESCO heritage list in 1999. The Complesso del Pecile is a reconstruction of the Stoà Pecile. This was a quadrangular square with arcades, located in the Agora of Athens, a political and cultural center loved and discovered by the emperor Hadrian during his travels. No less important is the Canopus, a basin that evokes an arm of the Nile and its delta, where reconstructions of significant statues overlook the water, giving enchanting reflections for visitors. Del Palazzo we can admire a vast built area where they are distinguishable areas, rooms, fountains and the remains of niches once adorned with statues. The Maritime Theater is instead a rather singular structure, which was the first residence of the emperor in the area. it is the remainder of a one-storey structure, located on an islet, surrounded by a small moat and a circular colonnade, which could only be reached with a mobile bridge. Along the way, you come across the Large and Small Baths, the Hundred Chambers (buildings built to compensate for the unevenness of the ground), the Antinoeion (temple dedicated to the lover of the emperor Hadrian, who died prematurely), the Hospitalia (the building of and rooms dedicated to the soldiers), the Ninfeii, the Sala dei Filosofi (an apse room with niches, of doubtful use; perhaps a library or perhaps a waiting room for guests). In the vast area, other buildings with various functions, from the Peschiera Building to the Greek Theater, of limited dimensions. Piazza d'Oro, on the other hand, appears majestic, which is easy to imagine as a vast area with basins, arcades and statues now conserved in various museums.The Terrace with the Tempe Pavilion, a three-story terrace overlooking the valley.To all these beauties, which are not mentioned exhaustively here, is added the presence of an equal area below erranea of inexplicable majesty: vast underground passageways intended for servitude, essential for moving from one environment to another or for carrying supplies also by carriage, without the emperor and guests being disturbed in fornication by servants. Visits: For disabled access for gardens and fountains it is required to book the service on 0774 335850. It is also advisable to obtain the integrated ticket for access to Villa Adriana and the Sanctuary of Ercole Vincitore.