Villa Adriana

This extraordinary villa was built for Emperor Hadrian in 118 A.D. It was vast and included full-scale reproductions of Egyptian and Greek buildings, much loved by Hadrian. The palace had a series of rooms for guests, banqueting halls and libraries. Hadrian had theatres built, as well as libraries with many Greek and Latin texts, and baths, fountains and pools. Teatro Marittimo must have also been an incredible sight, a pool with an island in the centre reached by a drawbridge: apparently it was one of the emperor's favourite spots in which to indulge in his favourite pastimes, painting and architecture. Amongst the reproduced buildings, Hadrian had a Canopus made, a temple to the god Serapis, and statues were imported from Egypt for decoration. The villa fell into ruin after 700 A.D, when tribes of barbarians used it as a campsite. The art work reappeared much later in private collections, and in various European museums. The restored remains can be viewed amongst the trees, along with fragments of mosaics from the imperial palace. You can get there by bus to Tivoli, or by train to Tivoli station and from there, local bus 4.

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